Saga of the Wardens: Awakening
by Naryfiel Lilith
Summary: Six months have passed since the Blight Ended, only for the darkspawn to behave unusually during what should be a time of peace and reconstruction. Now, the heroes of the Blight must mend their broken Order in order to combat these unusually intelligent darkspawn, and learn just what awakened this threat. (Multi-Warden Novelization of Awakening, sequel to Saga of the Wardens)
1. Chapter 1) The Vigil

Chapter 1) The Vigil

 _Layla POV_

* * *

 _One month after the Blight, funerals for the dead are held. Those who are missing are given candles, and are assumed to be deceased as well. King Cailan and former Warden Commander Duncan are given their own ceremonies._

 _Two months after the Blight, Anora Mac Tir, the former queen of Fereldan, accepts Teyrn Fergus Cousland's proposal, and moves to Highever. The ceremony is quiet, but hopeful, and is attended by most of the court._

 _Three months after the Blight, Valendrian, former hahren of the Alienage, is named 'bann'. Alongside Neria Surana, the court mage, and Lyna Mahariel, huntress of the Sabrae Clan, he serves as an advisor to King Alistair. Talks with Orzammar begin with having a permanent ambassador stationed at Fereldan's castle._

 _Four months after the Blight, Denerim is repaired, and the reconstruction is celebrated with the wedding of King Alistair Theirin and Lady Elspeth Cousland. The resulting after-party nearly destroys the city again._

 _Five months after the Blight, rumors begin popping up of darkspawn not retreating into the Deep Roads as is typical for a Thaw. Many hope it is simply a result of the Blight being so short._

 _Six months after the Blight, Warden Commander Aiden Tabris, and Arlessa Layla Amell of Amaranthine decide it is time to visit the new headquarters for the Wardens: Vigil's Keep. And here is where they discover that something dark is awakening._

* * *

"You know; it just occurred to me that you and I never did travel together unless we were in a large group," I noted as we walked down the path. Aiden and I were to have escorts, but both of us were made uncomfortable by how worshiping the guards looked, so we requested to travel quietly, just the two of us. It was much more peaceful. "When you joined up, Cleon was here, and whenever we split up, Nuada and I were paired together."

"That is true," Aiden agreed. He laughed at the observation, ducking under a low-hanging branch. "The first time was perfectly logical. I think the second time was an unconscious 'please, get together already' thing."

"Cad." I grinned to soften the insult and he laughed again. "How are you doing? I know Zevran originally intended to be here with us."

"Same to Leliana, for some reason." Though he looked thoughtful, I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Leliana was still interested, and it did not seem like Zevran minded one bit. If anything, I thought he _encouraged_ it. "He's attempting to meet with a Guildmaster so that we can hopefully lessen the number of Crows that come after him, and we don't have to deal with another set of assassins trying to kill us while we're having sex."

"I imagine that was quite the mood killer."

"Well, Zevran thought it hilarious." He shrugged. "Leliana, though, was called by the Grand Cleric for an unknown reason." Maybe it had something to do with her protections of the Urn. "She also suggested we grow roses around the Keep."

"Well, I do plan to make a medicinal garden if there is not one already." I held up my pack. "I even have seeds."

"From that botanist that visited, right?" He helped me over some loose rocks. The path was still not quite cleared thanks to everything, but they were much better than before. "What was her name?"

"Ines Arancia. She's very well respected, and an absolute master of botany."

"She didn't seem to like Wynne very much." He snickered. "What was it? Miss 'I am so special the Fade shines out my bum'?"

"Yes, they do not get along. Wynne thinks her incredibly eccentric." I shrugged. "But she was most kind when I asked her for help. If we find any Northern Prickleweed seeds, though, we need to send them to her. They're rumored to be able to grow on blighted lands."

"Ah, is that what she was researching?" He sighed, looking at the area. "So many people lost everything because of the Blight. It will take _years_ for us to recover." These dark rumors about the darkspawn were not helping at all either. "But, Layla, if you might humor me?"

"What do you need?" I asked, skipping so that I was directly at his side. According to our map, we should be able to see the Keep soon. "You look concerned."

"Well, by this point, we really should have had a welcoming group," he pointed out. I nodded slowly, realizing he was right. "I also think I'm sensing darkspawn."

I managed to hold in my groan until I closed my eyes and confirmed that there were, in fact, darkspawn nearby. "Why is it that something that should be simple is not?" There were _many_ darkspawn around. "There are supposed to be Wardens here. Why have they not dealt with it yet?"

"Maybe this is a recent attack?" We came around the bend, only to see that parts of the Keep were _on fire_. "Then again, maybe not." After all, you could not get fires that large, even with magic, unless they had been burning a while. "What's that curse Leliana likes? Blood and damnation?"

"I was thinking something simpler, like 'well, damn'."

"That works too." We both drew our weapons as we noticed a soldier being overwhelmed. "Take the left, Layla."

"On it, Aiden!" We both charged forward, he taking the right, and I taking the left. Between the two of us, the darkspawn easily fell. In fact, they fell _so_ easily that I was unnerved. Their movements had been clunky compared to those at Ostagar and the Siege of Denerim. It was almost like watching a newborn attempting to walk, if you had seen a darkspawn during the Blight.

I did not much like comparison. It had some implications I did not want to think on.

"Easy, soldier," Aiden murmured, helping the soldier up. I came next to her and brought up my hands to check her over for injuries. "You're safe now."

"I… thank you?" she replied. She looked confused. "But who are…?" She gasped suddenly, eyes lighting up. "Oh, you're the Commander of the Grey and the Arlessa!" The girl saluted us, before slumping from relief. "Thank the Maker."

"So, what happened?" He glanced around, frowning. I knew he had noticed the same thing I had. There was just something 'off' to all of this. Was it because this was not a Blight or was it something more sinister?

"I have no idea. They came from nowhere." Now, how could that be? There were Wardens here, and they were supposed to sense these things. "I heard screams and people dying, and then someone ordered me to come intercept you two on the road." She sighed. "I thin it was Varel." I thought I knew that name. It seemed familiar.

"Who?"

"The seneschal, steward. Keeps things running for the Wardens." She saluted again. "I completely forgot to introduce myself. I am Mhairi, a Warden recruit."

"It's nice to meet you." Aiden nodded to the Keep. "Is there a way inside?"

"Yes, this way!" Mhair pointed to a hidden path, blocked by an ogre. "I managed to get it before escaping, but then I was-"

The ogre suddenly jumped to its feet with an ear-shattering roar. Aiden shifted to protect Mhairi while I encased its legs in ice. As it tried to move, though, Aiden rushed forward, and I used telekinesis to boost his jump to high over the ogre's head. With a yell, Aiden brought his greatsword down, splitting the ogre's skull, and killing it for good.

Just for good measure, though, I made sure to set the corpse on fire when he landed. I hated ogres.

"Ogres have a rapid regeneration rate," I explained to Mhairi. Her eyes were wide, and she looked ashamed. "You really have to over-kill the stupid things." Aiden walked over, rolling his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aiden reassured. He moved to put his greatsword back on his back, before deciding against it. "I was just loosening up my shoulders. I hadn't expected a fight." Neither of us had. If we had, we would have waited to come with Alistair, Elspeth, Nuada, and Cleon. "Mhairi, that path?" She nodded vigorously, eyes determined. "Then, inside the burning keep. I think that might be a new one." Now that he mentioned it... "Let's go."

* * *

Vigil's Keep was made of a strong, stable stone. There were wooden features, of course, but the main part was stone. As a result, the smell of smoke and char all but disappeared once we were inside. It was replaced, though, with the smell of blood and other bodily fluids. Rot had not set in yet, though, which was nice.

"Unbelievable…" Mhairi breathed as we came into the main room. She looked around at the carnage with wide eyes and shaking hands. "There was fighting here when I left. It hasn't been that long." Yes, you could see the remains quite clearly. "The keep has been overwhelmed." She slowly turned, as if she couldn't believe anything she was seeing. "How did the Wardens not sense the darkspawn coming? I don't understand it!"

"How many were supposed to be here again?" Aiden asked. Like me, he did not seem to care about how many dead bodies were scattered near us. I was not sure if that was a good thing or not. The Blight certainly had left its mark on us. "Wardens, I mean."

"Not many. A dozen?" Mhairi turned to face us. "There are other soldiers who came with them, though, and more recruits."

"But we still have the darkspawn creating a very effective ambush." Aiden glanced at me. "I don't remember them being this smart _with_ an Archdemon."

"I do not either," I agreed. It seemed strange. All records indicated that the darkspawn were mindless without the Archdemon, but here we had them somehow becoming smarter with the Archdemon's death. "Do you think…?" I noted Mhairi was listening closely, and so chose to sign the next words: 'do you think this has something to do with Morrigan's ritual?'

'I hope not,' he signed back. Both of us knew Cleon would never forgive himself if so. He barely forgave himself _now_ for it, more so because he had kept it secret. 'Did he ever give you those hugs and sweets you demanded as payment?'

'Yes, he did.' They were _delicious_ sweets too. He, Lyna, and Ashalle made them. 'I think he promised to bring more when he and Nuada met us here.'

'Oh, that does sound good.'

"Um…" Mhairi hesitantly interrupted. I could tell that she felt unnerved. "What are you two…?"

"Cleon is deaf, and prefers to not speak, so we created a sign language based on the sign languages each of the group knew," Aiden explained. The result was our own unique language that we understood perfectly, but others… not so much. "You'll be taught it eventually. It's a pain to carry paper and pen while working in the field. But there's nowhere near enough time." He glanced at me. "Is there a chance you can…?"

"Well, I suppose now is a good time to experiment a little," I replied. Carefully, I drew on my blood magic, and tentatively 'mixed' it with a handful of spell wisps. Then, I let them go, hoping that they would seek out 'fresh blood', 'living blood'. They ended up going in two directions. One went through a closed gate in the distance, likely leading further into the Keep. The other went to a nearby door. "Well, if it worked, then we have living in those directions." I shrugged. "Of course, they could just be seeking out darkspawn."

"Even that is preferable than standing here in someone's intestines. Mhairi, you might want to move, by the way." While Aiden headed for the door we could reach, I gave Mhairi a sympathetic look as she squirmed back. "I can hear fighting."

"Aiden, hold on a moment." I turned to face Mhairi, noticing the paleness in her face. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," Mhairi mumbled. She bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I actually survived Ostagar, so some things…" Ah, I had been assuming she was a new recruit, not a traumatized veteran. That… was rather arrogant and patronizing of me, actually. "B-but I am ready and willing to fight, I assure you." Her eyes lit up as she raised her head again. "I've always loved the tales of kings, knights, and nobles, fighting for what they believe is right. While I know the reality isn't as pretty, it still doesn't change how that is the sort of life I want. To fight, live, and die for a cause I believe in. Destroying the darkspawn fits in nicely, especially after you Wardens saved my home." She smiled warmly. "So, I promise. I'll be fine."

"I hope so," Aiden replied. He was smiling slightly. "Your enthusiasm is appreciated, but I'm going to warn you now. Being a Warden is seeing the worst of battles again and again and again." Though, to be fair, we did join up during a Blight. Perhaps things were a little less gory outside of one. The Vigil's condition did not help that hypothesis, but this was already noted to be strange. "Opening the door in three… two… one…"

The door slammed open, and the three of us burst through. However, we only found a mage torching some darkspawn. He turned to face us after waving his hands, and looked rather startled to see us there. I was startled for a completely different reason.

"Er…" he began, glancing around before shrugging. "I didn't do it." Oh, I definitely knew this tone. He always used it to get out of trouble.

"Anders?" I breathed, staring at him. His nonchalant innocence faded for shock. "Anders, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, that is a good question, but I've a few myself." He pointed to me. "Why are you wearing armor for starters?"

"You missed a lot!" I ran over and gave him a quick hug before hitting his shoulder. "Damn it, Anders!"

"Since when do you curse?!" Still, he hugged me back warmly, laughing all the while. "Well, damn. I go off on my own for nine months, and look what happened!"

"Where have you been? Did you not hear of the Tower?"

"Oh, I did. That's why I'm in Fereldan, and not Kirkwall like I had planned." He pulled away and poked my cheek. "The place was crawling with refugees, by the way. I felt so sorry for all of them. If I hadn't heard about the Tower, I definitely would have been tending to them. I only recently got back to Fereldan."

"Why were you in…?" I remembered that Karl had been taken there, and that Anders had tried to reunite with him before. "No, let me rephrase that. You came _back_?"

"Yeah. I was worried." He shrugged. "Remember, Layla, you guys are my family. I couldn't stay in Kirkwall, knowing that _something_ had happened. How is Neria? Jowan?"

"Neria is the Court Mage of Fereldan now." I tried to keep my voice light, but the next bit of news made them heavy. "Jowan is dead, though. It is… complicated…" It haunted me even now.

"…I see…" Anders closed his eyes, to hold back tears. "Well, I was afraid I'd come back to all three of you being dead. One out of three isn't… so bad…"

"Might I ask what you meant by you 'did not do it'?" Aiden suddenly asked. I knew he was asking more to distract Anders than out of any real curiousity. "I take it you're a friend of Mistress Layla's."

"Ah, yes," Anders confirmed. The slight warmth to his small smile told me he knew what Aiden was doing, and appreciated it. "I'm her older brother, basically."

"Oh, you're going to love meeting Lord Nuada."

"Who?" Anders frowned and looked down at me. "Wait, did you pick up a boyfriend while I was away?"

"Yes, and I have had sex with him too," I retorted, blunt words bringing a blush to my face. Anders gasped dramatically, shaking his head. "Actually, I do think you two will get along." I poked his side, knowing he was ticklish there. "But, seriously, what were you referring to?"

"Well, them?" Anders answered, pointing to the corpses on the floor. It took me a couple of blinks to realize that the mangled pieces of metal used to be templar armor. "I didn't kill them."

"Well, of course you did not. Despite your numerous escape attempts, you are not stupid enough to fight a templar."

"Precisely. I'm more of the run away sort." That he was. Despite his nonchalance and sarcasm, at his core, Anders was always the gentlest of us four. He hated fighting more than anything. "Okay, I will admit that I'm not all _that_ sorry at them dying, but that's more because of how they liked kicking me awake." He sighed. "I know _most_ people adore that, but I'm just so picky. And, you know, they kept dispelling my magic whenever I _did_ try to help."

"Well, that was smart."

"Did you acquire a sense of sarcasm with the rapier?" He leaned away from my attempt to bat him on the shoulder. "Well, you're still short."

"And I've seen her destroy armies," Aiden teased. Anders looked startled by that. "I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Aiden Tabris, Commander of the Grey. You know Mistress Layla, but you might not know she's the Arlessa now."

"Wait, she is?" Anders yelped. He definitely looked startled now. "But… mages can't hold titles?"

"Technically, neither can Wardens, yet both she and Lord Nuada both hold titles, and Alistair is a former Warden." Aiden grinned. "We just arrived."

"Oh, I figured that. I definitely would've remembered Layla, and even if I somehow missed her, I doubt I would forget seeing such a handsome lad and lovely lady."

"…Are you Antivan?"

"Nope, I'm from the Anderfels. I picked up my personality from the Circle."

" _Regardless_ ," I began, interrupting the conversation. "We are in a burning building filled with dead, and Mhairi looks ready to throw up." I tugged Anders's sleeve. "Fall in. You are on healer duty."

"You're a Spirit Healer too," Anders protested. Still, he went over to Mhairi and, with a simple spell, helped ease her nausea. I wondered if she was remembering fallen friends from Ostagar. "What will you be doing?"

"I will be _fighting_ , obviously." I crossed my arms, and looked to Aiden. "Shall we follow the path?" He nodded, and moved ahead. "Let us go, then.

It did not take us long to push through to find the controls for the inner gate. It _did_ take us a moment to get it working as the mechanism had been damaged, but Aiden picked up a few things from Zevran and Leliana, so we managed to get the gate to open. As soon as it did, darkspawn came rushing through, and a random dwarf appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh, we're scared now!" …Who was this dwarf, and where had he been hiding? "Don't come over here! Ha!" Why was he taunting the darkspawn?

The answer came in a giant explosion, one that made my ears ring and brought down _stones from the ceiling_.

As the sound and dust faded, I tentatively looked down to where the darkspawn were, finding only blackened stains and rubble. Well, that was… unexpected. I suppose it was good to be reminded that just because I went through a Blight, I had seen _everything_ , but I doubted I needed to nearly lose my hearing like Cleon in order to remember that.

"Aiden, I do not recall there being explosives so powerful," I murmured. That seemed to surpass even cannon fire. "Certainly Elspeth and Morrigan did not know of it." I highly doubted either of them would have refused to use them. Both could be incredibly pragmatic.

"Yeah, it reminds me of the gaatlok that Sten once described to me," Aiden agreed. He ran a bloody hand through his hair. "Something about it being a more powerful, more refined black powder thing." He shrugged. "Regardless, it's clear that what survivors are here are not aware that reinforcements have come."

"Well, to be fair, their 'reinforcements are two Wardens."

"Layla, I have literally seen you take out an army of darkspawn, and you _froze a port_."

"You are never going to let that one go, are you?" I sighed at his smile, and turned to Mhairi and Anders. "How are you two holding up?"

"Oh, I just got a reminder of why I hate explosives," Anders deadpanned. He sighed, rubbing at his ears. "Think there was some damage, but I cleared it up. Mhairi?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Mhairi confirmed. Her eyes were thoughtful. "I had heard there was a dwarven alchemist, the brother of a stonemason hired to check the walls of the Keep." Well, we just met him. "Should we head inside?"

"Yeah, probably. You sure you don't have a ringing in your head?"

"No, it passed."

"Soldiers." He and Mhairi dissolved soon into an argument, and Aiden and I exchanged slightly amused looks. While Anders was being a little pushy, I did notice he was not calling a single spell without permission, so I did not think we needed to intervene. He was just arguing about _why_ he thought it necessary to give Mhairi a check over, reasons Mhairi refused, likely due to how time consuming they would be. She wanted to move on.

"Okay, children, let's just stop there," Aiden finally sighed. He leapt over the side of the second floor and landed below with all the grace of a cat, though with the _sound_ of a stone hitting the ground. "We need to keep going."

"Yes, we do," I agreed. I called on the markings and jumped down too, landing with a bit less grace, but also with a bit of less noise. "Will you two be jumping down as well?" Anders just shot me a dirty look. "Then find a staircase down."

It was a bit fun to tease them with how weird we were.

* * *

The inner part of the Keep was far more chaotic than the outer. It remained mostly easily to control, though the clunky way the darkspawn moved still bothered me horrendously. But still, we fought our way through, protecting survivors as we could, and sending them to cleared areas.

At some point, sounds of fighting caught our attention, and we rushed forward intending to reinforce whoever they were. When we opened the door, though, I was surprised to see a lone person fighting a large group of darkspawn alone, and winning. At least, I was surprised until the person paused and turned to wave at us before going right back to killing darkspawn.

What was Oghren doing here?

Oghren cut down the last of the darkspawn, took a swing from his 'water bottle' no doubt filled with some sort of ale, and came over to us. " _There_ you two are!" he laughed, smiling warmly at us. I could not help but smile back. "When these darkspawn showed up, I thought 'just you wait until Aiden gets here and you'll be spitting teeth out of your arses!'" That was a delightful mental image. "Then Layla will come by and take care of the rest!"

"It is good to see you too, Oghren," I laughed, unable to help it. It was nice to see a familiar face, and I had not been able to see him much in the past few months. "I think I last saw you at Alistair and Elspeth's wedding?"

"Yeah, and I won that bet with Teagan." That had involved something about pickle juice. "But ancestor's tits, you two are slow. I've been here a week waiting for ya."

"Waiting?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd give a try at being a Warden." I shared a look with Aiden, and nodded. _Something_ had happened, but we would wait for him to explain. "So?"

"It isn't something you can back out of," Aiden reminded him. He shrugged. "So long as you remember that, I don't mind. I know your strength personally."

"Great to hear it!" Oghren replied. His smile implied that he appreciated that we had not pressed the issue. "Oh, and look who you have. The recruit with a great rack." Oghren!

"Let's keep comments like that more unsaid." Aiden shook his head. "What can you tell me about the situation?"

"I know they got ambushed. _Bad_." Oghren's voice turned serious. "And I have never seen them pull something like this before." That was bad. Oghren was a veteran of the Deep Roads, meaning he had seen a _lot_. "There were some soldiers heading to the roof to try and cut off the leader."

"How did the leader get on the _roof_ already?" Aiden bit back a groan. This was definitely not how either of us had thought the day would go. "Which way?"

Oghren's answer was to silently show us the door, and we were soon running through, hoping we could make it to the soldiers before they _all_ died. Along the way, though, I tripped over something, and yelped. I yelped again when I realized the 'something' had been a heavily injured person.

"Rowland!" Worse still, it was a person Mhairi knew. "Rowland, it's Mhairi!" she whispered, kneeling next to him. The man groaned in reply, eyes fluttering open to reveal they were clouded with pain. "Commander Tabris, Rowland is a knight recruited from Denerim like me." She looked back at us, eyes pleading. "We must do something for him!"

I studied the man closely, noticing the deep wounds that bleed sluggishly, and shook my head. I, at least, did not have the power to help him. "Anders?" I whispered, glancing at him. He had always been better at healing than me. "Can you?"

"No, he's beyond healing magic," Anders sighed. His fingers twitched at his side, and I knew he wanted to try anyway. "If I had a field medic kit on me like Irving always said I should, I might be able to combine them…" His tone implied he did not think it would work. "Does anyone have whiskey? It might help dull the pain."

"What about blood magic paired with healing magic?"

"The main problem is that there's some sort of poison in the blood, along with there being too little, and…" He trailed off, looking at me incredulously. "Wait, hold on. Blood magic?!"

"A lot of things happened during the Blight, and I am trying to find nice ways to use it." Still, if there was a poison in the blood… "Let me check." I knelt down and cast my magic on the blood. I recoiled instantly. "It is the Taint." Nothing we could do to save him, save put him through the Joining right now. "There is truly nothing we can do."

"It's… fine…" Rowland managed to mumble, startling all of us. He had a rather sweet smile. "It's fine… Mhairi, relax… soldiers are prepared…" But I could tell by the look on her face that she had desperately not wanted to lose him. Were they close? Was it simply her remembering Ostagar and how _everyone_ had died? There was no way to tell.

"I'm sorry," Aiden whispered. He knelt by Rowland and brushed his hair out of his face. "I'm sorry I did not come sooner." Oh, Aiden… "But please, can you tell me everything you remember?"

"They… they were on us in a moment. The seneschal ordered a counter attack, but they came from… from nowhere and everywhere! The walls, the ground…" It seemed the Vigil was not as secure as we had thought. "The one who leads them has powerful magic and talks." …Did he just said it _talked_?

"Riordan mentioned being able to listen in on the Archdemon, but I don't think this is the same." Aiden sighed, and glanced at me. "Is there truly nothing to save him?"

"There is none," I confirmed. I drooped, reminded of the others I could not save. It had been a while since then, yet I still… "As Anders said, the best we can do is do something for the pain, or to put him out of his misery now." Mhairi moved to protest, but I held up a hand. "He will not get better. We can do nothing but watch him die."

"In which case, I would prefer to give him a clean death, instead of risking him becoming a twisted ghoul, like what happened to Tamlen," Aiden murmured. He focused on Rowland. "Is that all right by you?"

"Yes, it's fine…" Rowland whispered. His smile was bloody. "It was an honor to meet you. I wish I could have fought at your side…"

"You gave me information that might save our lives, Rowland. Do not doubt that." Aiden pulled a dagger from his boot; I recognized it as his mother's. "Rest easy."

I tugged Mhairi away as Aiden sit Rowland's throat, rubbing her back as she shook. "Mhairi, you do not have to pretend to be unfeeling," I whispered. I gave her a sad smile. "But battles and death are common to Wardens. It does not need to be as dramatic as Ostagar. If you let it break you in the middle of a battle, then you will never be able to accomplish your goal."

"I…" she rasped. She shook her head roughly, and took a shuddering breath. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry."

"It has been a very weird, very rough day." I looked back to the others, and saw them standing. "We are ready here. Are we continuing?" The boys nodded, and headed for the door. "Mhairi?" I glanced at her, and she nodded too. "Stay close to me if you feel yourself panicking."

We followed the boys, and it was not long at all before we reached the door to the roof and burst through. As we did, though, we saw a darkspawn kick a soldier off the roof, and saw other darkspawn holding soldiers hostage. What was this? They had not done _this_ during the Blight, right?

"It has ended… just as He foretold." Maker have mercy. It really _was_ a talking darkspawn. "Be taking this one gently," it hissed as it knelt in front of the older man with armor. "We are wishing nor more death than is necessary."

"That really makes me question how much you thought _was_ necessary," Aiden drawled, walking up. The darkspawn turned to face him. "Let the soldiers go and then we'll fight like we normally do."

"You are thinking you know of our kind?" It shook its head in an almost patronizing way. "It is understandable, but that will soon be changed." He looked to the other darkspawn. "Capture the Grey Wardens." Wait, was all of this just to capture us? "These others, they may be-" Aiden _lunged_ forward, not even drawing his weapon, just punching the darkspawn as hard as he could in the face.

I laughed as he sent it _flying_. "My apologies," I managed through the laughter. This was just so… ridiculous. We had a talking, thinking darkspawn that had attacked and killed all these people just to get us? "But you would have been better off just ambushing us directly." I used telekinesis to launch all the fallen weapons in the air, wrenching some from the darkspawn. "All you did was _piss us off_." I wrapped fire around the blades, waiting until they were red-hot. "Die." I launched them with a wave of my hand, focusing to make sure they only hit darkspawn. It was tiring work, and by the time I was done, my vision was graying.

But that did not matter. Aiden had tapped into the power of his Tainted blood, accidentally unlocked by Avernus's research, and was just punching the talking darkspawn to death. While Anders and Mhairi were startled by the display, Oghren just charged forward to take care of the darkspawn I had not killed. He was far too used to our weirdness. Mhairi quickly went to support him, though, and Anders went to tend to the freed soldiers.

It did not take long for Aiden to just twist around and snap the darkspawn's neck before throwing it off for good measure. I stumbled over to the edge, and noticed that Aiden had thrown it right on a jagged piece of rock, ripping its spine as it fell. Just in case, though, I used what little magic I had left to set the body on fire as it continued to fall. Then I turned back, and looked at all the bodies, all the blood. There were so many dead, and there were likely even more injured.

Well, this was a lovely start to my rule as Arlessa.

* * *

Author's Note: Welcome to Saga of the Wardens: Awakening. Just like Saga of the Wardens, it will be written through multiple POVs, and will follow the same 'cycle', beginning with Layla. It's mentioned multiple times during that story that Layla is a personal friend of Anders, considering each other siblings. Ines is a character from a future sidequest; while I won't be writing it, I did want to include her at least in passing.

Next Chapter – Aiden with the aftermath of the assault


	2. Chapter 2) New Starts

Chapter 2) New Start

 _Aiden POV_

* * *

 _He sighs, toying with his knife. He wishes he was anywhere but here. He really wishes he was with his amor, his Aiden. But, alas, he is not. He is waiting for a Grandmaster to find the balls to speak to him directly, casually killing all those they send against him. He doesn't know why they think they stand a chance. Sure, he had not been 'the best' among the Crows, but he is stronger now. He learned many things in Fereldan, better ways. He also has a strong will to survive, a strong will to remain. He has friends he knows he can trust, a love who is waiting for him._

 _So, he sighs again, and casually drinks some Antivan wine. He hopes Aiden isn't too cold without him._

* * *

The bad thing about being used to sleeping with someone? The bed was cold, no matter how many blankets you dragged onto you. But I'd have to get used to it. This would not be the last time Zevran and I would be separated because of duties, after all.

"Practically everything is going to need repairs," I grumbled, looking over the report. The walls needed to be stronger. The gates were ruined. There was rubble all over the place. There were corpses still buried, and the smell was getting nauseating. "What a way to start…" I knew everything sounded too simple. When was _anything_ simple for us?

"Commander Tabris!" A soldier raced up, and quickly saluted. "Guests have arrived," they informed me breathlessly. I thought it might be my friends. "Will you go?"

"Of course." I gestured down the hall. "Mistress Layla is in the infirmary, tending to the wounded. Do not interrupt her, but when there is a free moment, give her the message too."

"Sir!" The soldier ran off again, and I fought off the urge to sigh before heading to the gates. Oghren, Anders, and Mhairi were already there, likely because they had been working to clean up the courtyard.

Alistair and Lady Elspeth were also there, both in deceptively simple traveling clothes and surrounded by bodyguards. To my surprise, I didn't see Lord Nuada or Cleon with them. Had they been delayed? They were supposed to be traveling with Alistair and Lady Elspeth…?

"Aiden!" Alistair called, waving to match sure he had my attention. "It seems we're a little late." He shrugged as I came to stand in front of him. "What a shame. I rather miss the whole darkspawn killing thing." He grinned when I laughed. He had said that specifically to cheer me up. "And I swear, if you kneel, I'm going to cry or something. Rather unkingly, yeah?"

"Then I won't," I reassured. I glanced over and noticed Lady Elspeth looking fondly exasperated. "Hey, you married him."

"I am very glad for that, but it would not hurt him to act a little more formal in official settings," Lady Elspeth gently scolded. Alistair playfully sulked anyway. "What will the Bannorn think of their new king?"

"Is the Bannorn thinking of anything but whatever grievance to next go to war about?" Alistair sighed. He scowled. "That last missive mentioned an _apple tree_."

"Oh, that isn't unusual. There's been incidents of that before, such as during the Steel Age."

"We just fought a civil war! Why are they trying so hard to kill each other already?"

"That is where we come in, mi rey."

"I see you two have already descended into bantering like an old married couple," I laughed, finally relaxing. I couldn't help it, and I wondered if that was why they had brought this up at all. "But I am a little worried. Lord Nuada and Cleon?"

"Oh, there was a bandit ambush a little ways back," Lady Elspeth answered with a little shrug. "Cleon and Nuada wanted a bit of exercise. They should catch up before long. How is Layla?"

"In the infirmary. She should be here…" The sound of running made me glance back, and I smiled when I saw Mistress Layla rushing up. "Right now, actually."

"You two have the most horrid timing!" Mistress Layla playfully complained as she slowed to a stop. Her hands and face looked freshly scrubbed, but I saw she had not taken the time to change out of her stained clothes. "You are so mean!"

"Hey, we thought things were all nice and peaceful until your messenger met us on the road!" Alistair defended. He pouted a little before shrugging. "Fine, I'll be serious." Alistair shifted just slightly, and his entire demeanor shifted. That was a lesson from Leliana, if I remembered correctly. "Well, the original intention of this little visit had been a formal welcome. Now, it looks like I'm being informed of a massacre."

"Correct, and we're still getting information as to what happened," I sighed. I barely resisted the urge to groan. "With the exception of possible one Warden who happened to be away, we're back at our original numbers, which is one less than what we had during the _Blight_."

"All dead?"

"That or missing." I glanced down at the report in my hand. "Half of them are unaccounted for. They might have been taken by the darkspawn."

"Female?"

"No, actually. All the missing are male." If they had been dragged off to become broodmothers, I'd at least have an explanation. But why would they take male Wardens? "This is such a mess."

"That seems like an understatement." Alistair clasped my shoulder reassuringly, and gave me a smile. "I'm not sure what I can do, but if you think of anything, I will do what I can." He turned to Mistress Layla. "That goes for you too, of course."

"I never doubted," Mistress Layla reassured with a warm smile. It fell, though, as she grew serious. "But there really is a lot of work to be done, and unfortunately, a lot of the defense plans we came up with had assumed Wardens would be here."

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Oghren's dry voice almost made me jump. I had completely forgotten about him, Mhairi, and Anders all standing there. "I came here to join the Wardens, and from the looks of it, you could use the extra hands!" Oghren laughed. He knew he had startled me. "Where's the giant cup? I'll gargle and spit."

"Please don't spit it up," I replied. When I saw his grin, I added, "please also don't say whatever you're going to say."

"You're no fun." Still, his grin never wavered. "So?"

"As I mentioned before, so long as you know there's no turning back, I've no problem." I was horribly confused, though. I thought he had been happy with Felsi, and happy in the army. "But while we're talking about that…" I turned to Anders, who suddenly looked resigned. "Anders, what's-?"

"King Alistair, Queen Elspeth, please, be careful!" Who was this woman pushing her way to the front? "This man is a dangerous criminal!" she snapped, eyes blazing with righteous fury. She was wearing armor, so I assumed she was a soldier. "Stay back."

"Who, Oghren?" Alistair asked, looked confused. I was glad I wasn't the only one. "Well, he's a bit of an arse, certainly, but he's got a good heart, and I don't recall any charges being brought against-"

"She means _me_ ," Anders sighed, interrupting Alistair. He looked rather resigned. "I'm the runaway apostate being dragged back to the Circle for 'justice'." He scoffed. "As if what templars know of justice could fill a gnat's ear."

"Well, I could argue a bit, but I'm aware of where you're coming from. I did train as a templar, after all, and I know the Chantry focuses more of zealotry than morals in their templars." Alistair looked rather good-natured about all of this, enough to startle Anders. "But what are your crimes, mister? Come, let us hear them."

"Mainly escaping. I might have forged a couple of documents, but that's minor compared to the former."

"Don't lie!" the templar lady snapped. She looked… I'd almost call this comical if she didn't actually hold a lot of power. "You'll hang for killing the templars here!"

"You mean the ones the darkspawn killed?" I asked dryly. _That_ was what she was going after? "We just got through cataloguing all their injuries. Unless Anders has a spell that can perfectly mimic claws and bite wounds, he wasn't involved." Movement caught my eye, and I noticed Lady Elspeth was signing something to me. I smirked when I realized what it was. "Regardless, the discussion is moot. I am the Commander of the Grey Wardens, and I am in need of fighters and, more importantly, healers. I invoke the Right of Conscription to bring Anders in as a Warden recruit."

"What?!" The woman's eyes widened. "Never!"

"That isn't your call to make," Lady Elspeth casually pointed out. She smiled gently, innocently, as if she wasn't the one who reminded me of it in the first place. "The Divine herself recognizes the Right. Unless you wish to disobey her will, and thus the Will of the Maker, you had best give up." The woman grit her teeth and stormed away, muttering under her breath. "She'll be trouble later."

"Of course she will," I sighed. Well, it wasn't like I wasn't used to it. "Well, Anders, you're now a Warden recruit." I turned to look at him. He was staring, shocked, and didn't seem to register anything until Mistress Layla playfully poked him in the side and made him squirm. "You okay with that?"

"Uh… I guess that works?" Anders replied, slowly, batting Mistress Layla's hand away when she tried to poke him again. "Yes, it works." I remembered how resigned I had felt after being conscripted, and resolved to talk to him about it later. "If you're sure."

"I would've found another way if I wasn't." I paused. "Somehow."

"You could have pointed out that by Chantry law, mages are allowed fair trials, and then taken advantage of how everyone in Fereldan owes you their lives to ensure that he really _did_ get a fair trial." Lord Nuada stepped through the crowd, smiling at us. "It seems we're late for the party," he teased as Cleon soon joined him. "Did you save us some refreshments?"

"Nuada!" Mistress Layla squealed, launching herself at him for a hug. He caught her easily, and shifted so that he was carrying her. "We did save you some, but you were too long, so we had to give them away."

"Am I too late for a greeting kiss?" He grinned when Mistress Layla leaned down to kiss his cheek. "It's been too long."

'You two are more sickeningly sweet than the married couple,' Cleon signed, expression droll and signs light. He smiled, though, as Lord Nuada set Mistress Layla on the ground. 'Can I get a hug too?'

"Of course," Mistress Layla replied, giving him a one. "Welcome to the Vigil, or what is left of it."

"Yeah, I noticed the damage," Lord Nuada commented as he walked over to give me a hug. "Cleon and I sensed all the darkspawn blood too, and we sensed more creeping around." Why weren't the darkspawn just leaving? "So, the two of us were thinking we'd stay here."

"Are you two certain?" I asked, startled. The plan had been for just Mistress Layla and I to be here, while those two handled other duties. "I mean…."

'I may be a hero, but I am also a Warden,' Cleon signed, with a little shrug. He patted Mistress Layla on the head when she frowned. 'I have my duties, and they are clearly here.'

"With me, it is a conflict of duties," Lord Nuada explained. His smile didn't fit the words. "So I humbly beg my king, and brother in law, for leave from my duties as King's Champion to combat the threat to our glorious nation." It did fit those words, though. "Besides, Teyrn and King's Champion I may be, but the official word from the Wardens is that I am _also_ your second in command, Aiden." That was true. I wondered why they wanted to risk him dying from overwork. "Remind me again why it's not you, Cleon?"

'They need me to be the hero and go parade across the continent, especially since we aren't telling them why I'm alive.' That was a secret we four would ake to our Calling. 'So, while I am officially a Fereldan Warden, I have the authority of a Commander, and will be traveling too frequently.'

"Whereas I am more likely to remain here in Fereldan due to my other duties." Lord Nuada shrugged before turning to Alistair. "So, my king?"

"I only wish I could get out of things to help out too," Alistair replied. He glanced at Lady Elspeth, who smiled wryly. "Yeah, I know. You and I are handling the political fallout and reparations. We can't do that and fight the darkspawn, so we just have to leave it to our friends." He sighed heavily. "It's no easy task, and I'm sorry, but I'm confident you can do it."

"We'll figure something out between the four of us, just as we did during the Blight," I promised. After all, the four of us figured out how to end the Blight. "If something happens, though, we'll let you know."

"Nuada knows fast ways to contact me anywhere," Lady Elspeth reassured, sharing a secretive smile with Lord Nuada. "If we come across information, we'll send it here." She tapped Alistair on the shoulder. "However, we must be going now if we're to make it to our destination by sundown."

"Please, be careful on the road." I hugged them both, patting them on the back. "Strange things are going on."

"We will, and we'll send a message letting you know we arrived safely." That would be reassuring. "Nuada, Layla, try not to make them drown in sweetness. After all…" Lady Elspeth trailed off, and gave Lord Nuada a look. He nodded in reply, catching whatever silent words were there. "I know you will."

It was only when we were giving them farewell hugs, and I caught the slightly worried looks Lord Nuada and Lady Elspeth gave Cleon and me that I understood what she had been fretting over. Morrigan had disappeared, and Zevran was in Antiva. They were worried that we would be hurt over it.

It was times like this that I remembered the two fretted a little too much, but I was touched anyway. I really had the best of friends.

* * *

"The time has come for us to begin the Joining. I shall speak the words that have been said since the first." Those words made me feel strangely nostalgic. Nine months ago, give or take, I heard them for the first time. "Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant." In Ostagar, where I had stood with seven acquaintances, at best. Daveth and Ser Jory had died then, Daveth from the Joining, and Jory because of Duncan. Duncan died later that same day. "Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn." The rest became my dearest friends, and it seemed bizarre to remember that I hadn't even known them less than a year ago. "And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten, and that one day, we shall join you." Though, considering Wardens and their secrecy, I was _really_ curious as to where Seneschal Varel learned this. Why had Duncan just killed Ser Jory back then, if there were non-Wardens who knew the secret? Was it just because he had attacked? I recalled Lord Nuada saying something like that.

Cleon nudged me in the side, a subtle reminder to get out of my thoughts and pay attention. I was the Warden Commander, and I had to watch the Joining be performed. So, I focused, leaning against the pillar as I watched, tapping Lord Nuada's shoulder when I realized he was reading through something instead of paying attention. He gave me a confused look for a moment before remembering where we were and smiling sheepishly.

Of course, he became less sheepish when he realized Mistress Layla wasn't paying attention either, and kissed her temple to get her out of her thoughts. She blinked owlishly as she adjusted back to the real world, and glanced at the rest of us curiously. Cleon, looking exasperated, pointed to where Anders, Mhairi, and Oghren stood before Varel, who held the same chalice we drank from at Ostagar.

'Why am I the only one paying attention?' Cleon signed. The rest of us exchanged a look and shrugged. 'Oghren is first.' Then we really did have to pay attention. 'What are you even reading, Nuada?'

'Finance reports for Gwaren,' Nuada signed back. He almost went back to them, but Mistress Layla snatched them from his hands. 'As well as a damage report. Gwaren's population got off well from the darkspawn thanks to taking to ships, but the land is itself is horribly tainted. I have to come up with estimated costs for reparations.'

'Didn't you read that on the way?'

'No, that was estimated costs for running the Wardens here, as well as running Vigil's Keep. Since it was given to the Wardens, it's technically neutral territory now, meaning its taxes and upkeep come from a separate treasury than Amaranthine's. The Arling itself is Layla's responsibility.'

'You have got to be kidding me.'

'Look who isn't paying attention now!' I signed, hands sharp to interrupt, but smiling to make the words teasing. 'Oghren is walking up now, and I think Varel is waiting on us.'

He apparently was, since as soon as the four of us actually focused on the group again, he continued with the Joining, passing the chalice to Oghren. "From this moment forth, Oghren, you are a Grey Warden."

"What's this, the sampling size?" Oghren _instantly_ complained. He scowled, looking offended. "Are you making a statement about my height?"

"You're supposed to sip it, Oghren," I called over. I should probably be the silent Commander, but I couldn't help it, especially when he turned his scowl my way. "One sip. Like you're taste-testing."

"Bah, you can't get a good taste from a tiny little sip." Still, Oghren, mollified, took a sip just as instructed. I felt myself tense as I saw his eyes roll back, saw him sway, and I wondered if he would end up like Daveth. But, instead, he just belched and shrugged. "Not bad. Not bad at all." And proved that he truly had a stomach of star-metal because there was no other way he made it through that without passing out like the rest of us.

"Oghren, come over here so that I can give you a health check," Mistress Layla called. She already had her hands up, healing magic dancing around her fingers. "Continue on, Varel. Oghren drinks strange things all the time." Ha!

"Very well," Varel replied. He held out the chalice to Anders. "From this moment forth, Anders, you are a Grey Warden."

"So, we need to drink darkspawn blood?" Anders asked, taking the chalice, but eyeing the contents suspiciously. "That's it?"

"Well, it has Archdemon blood in it too," Lord Nuada noted absently. I knew he was already back to work. Even if the reports weren't there, he was running through what he had memorized. Or had switched and was working on strategies for our little group. The ones we used during the Blight had to be modified. "Bit of lyrium as well. It's basically blood magic, but since its from before the Chantry, and because its tied to the Wardens who are exempt from lots of Chantry laws, no one makes a fuss. Just think of it as a specialty cocktail from a seedy tavern that has a slightly increased chance of killing you."

"Only slightly?" Anders sighed. "Well, all right. But if I wake up two weeks from now on a ship bound for Rivain in nothing but my smallclothes and a brand on my forehead, I'm blaming you." That was… descriptive.

"Interesting." Lord Nuada looked intrigued as Anders sipped from the chalice and immediately began to sway. "Now, was that a joke, or was that a subtle implication that he's expecting us to make him Tranquil?"

'What do you mean by that?' Cleon asked, frowning as he signed. Anders teetered in the background, and I wondered if he would live or die. 'I know little of these Tranquil.'

"I don't know much, myself," Lord Nuada admitted. "But I do know it involves a lyrium brand, and thus results in a sunburst tattoo on the forehead." Anders dropped right then, with a quiet thump. "Well, there's no blood. I think he lived, mi amor." He walked over to Anders and took his wrist, smiling slightly. "Yeah, his pulse is strong. He's fine."

"Excelent," Varel murmured. He smiled slightly before handing the chalice to Mhairi. "From this moment forth, Mhairi, you are a Grey Warden."

"I have awaited this moment," she whispered, smiling gently. Without any hesitations at all, she drank from the chalice, the last bit in it. But I could see the result instantly. She started choking, spewing blood as even more seeped from her eyes. She twisted and writhed, collapsing to the ground. Clawed at her throat as she tried desperately to breath. And soon, she stilled, the blood still trickling down.

"What determines if someone survives?" I whispered. I expected no answer and, sure enough, I didn't receive one. I could only wonder how many died, and how… fickle this Joining really was. "Cleon?" I turned to him, and he nodded, already knowing what I wanted. "Thank you."

'Of course,' he signed, walking over to Mhairi. He turned her over, gently wiped the blood off her face, and picked her up, carrying her out of the room. We'd hold her funeral later today. I wouldn't allow anything less.

"With the Joining done, there is another matter," Varel whispered, moving to stand in front of me. "There is a criminal in the dungeons, a thief."

"Really?" I replied, mind racing. Would this be 'my' jurisdiction or Mistress Layla's? I might need to sit down and study up on that. "What's unusual about him?"

"He's been locked up for three nights, it took four Wardens to take him down, and he managed to kill some darkspawn with some rocks thrown through the bars of his cell." Well, damn. "I thought you might want to talk to him and see about recruiting him."

"Yes, that seems reasonable." I glanced around the room, and saw Lord Nuada leaning against a pillar, back to reading. Mistress Layla, Oghren, and Anders weren't in sight. "Please, clean up?"

"Of course." He bowed to me. "We'll speak later."

I nodded to him, mostly not sure what else to say, and walked away, catching Lord Nuada by the shoulder. "There's a thief I want to meet," I told him. Lord Nuada just waited for me to continue. "Show me the dungeons?"

"They're this way," Lord Nuada replied easily, reading and walking at the same time. And somehow not crashing into anything. "You're glaring at my back."

"I'm trying to figure out how you're not tripping." There were holes in the steps, but he wasn't missing any of them as we headed outside and through another door with even more stairs. "I know you're familiar with the place, but there's been _damage_ and you only have one working eye."

"It's not all that hard with a little practice." He glanced back at me with a grin. "You'll be doing it too before long. I promise." We hit the bottom of the stairs and walked into the dungeons. "Now, there's multiple dungeons in the Keep, but this one is the only one with guards." And, sure enough, there was _one_ cell all the way in the back that had an occupant. "So, let's see who… this thief…" Lord Nuada trailed off, eyes widening in shock. "Nathaniel?" The thief turned at the name. "Nathaniel, what in flames are you…?"

"Nuada, what did you do to your eyes?" Whoever the stranger was, he was apparently familiar enough with Lord Nuada to not deal with titles. "Scarred and silver?" he breathed, looking a little startled. "Seriously, what did you _do_?"

"I am going to catch that phrase until the day I die. I'm almost certain of it." Well, it was a rather striking change, and eye colors rarely changed except due to magic. "Aiden, meet Nathaniel Howe." Well, this was awkward. "Nathaniel, meet Aiden Tabris."

"The Commander of the Grey." Nathaniel gave me a very droll look. "Aren't you supposed to be ten feet tall and shoot lightning out of your eyes?"

"I shrank in my last bath," I deadpanned. It earned me a slight smirk. "Very sad." This was all just ridiculous. "So, this isn't exactly…" What was with all the unexpected things? Was this life reminding me that I hadn't seen _everything_ just because I survived a very hectic Blight?

"I'm told the Wardens killed my father," Nathaniel grumbled. His eyes blazed with anger and hurt. "Named Oathbreaker, even after-"

"Your father ordered a purge on my home, the Alienage." I noticed his eyes widened. No one had told him _that_ , it seems. How typical. "We're still counting the dead. So, shut up, sit down, and open your ears. Your father was a monster who deserved worse than what he got." That might have been too blunt. "So, what are you doing here?" There was no answer. "I expect an answer."

"And I am getting my thoughts in order." Nathaniel closed his eyes. "I originally came here… to kill either you or the new Arlessa. Assassinations are easy, and I know this place far better than you two." I glanced at Lord Nuada, worried that his temper might crackle, but he remained calm, listening. That alone told me a lot; Nathaniel was someone he was willing to trust, even after what Howe did. "But when I got in here, I realized I didn't really care about that." He opened his eyes and looked at me. "I just wanted to reclaim some of my family's things. It's all I got left."

"Is it?"

"His mother died years ago," Lord Nuada explained. He held himself rigid, but his voice was calm. "We killed Thomas, his little brother, when Highever was reclaimed. I executed his father. Delilah, his younger sister, is missing, and has been since the Blight started." So many possible fates for her raced through my head, each worse than the last. "His home was given to the Wardens." Then Nathaniel really _did_ have nothing else. "Plus, there is the added stigma of being related to an Oathbreaker."

"How bad is that?" I asked softly. I had never thought of such things before. I never thought I would have to.

"By law, there isn't one. Culturally, though, it can be pretty bad." Lord Nuada sighed, all the tension leaving him at once. "Nathaniel, I swear, on my honor, on my name, that your father deserved _everything_ that happened to him. I can also swear, hard as it is to hear, that Thomas's actions in Highever also legally warranted his death." He looked tired. "But, I am sorry for you and Delilah. You two didn't have any involvement, but you're the ones paying the prices for them."

"And now you two get to decide my fate," Nathaniel pointed out. He laughed bitterly. "Does this count as ironic?"

"Well, I'm certain this is contrary to what you were expecting when you got home, and I've no doubt you're darkly amused by it, but I'm still not sure if it counts since it's not really contradictory or…" Lord Nuada rambled before cutting himself off and shaking his head. "Then again, maybe it is. I don't know. I'm not thinking clearly enough to be holding a literary device discussion."

"You don't like holding them even when you are thinking clearly." Nathaniel shrugged, leaning back against the wall. "Well, go ahead and make your decision. I don't care."

"All right," I replied, narrowing my eyes as I studied him. Varel had thought he'd make a good recruit, but that was likely without knowing his name. "Lord Nuada?" I glanced at him, curious. "Where has he even been?"

"I actually first met him in Starkhaven, in the Free Marches," Lord Nuada explained. "He's been squired there for eight years." Meaning Nathaniel likely knew very little about what had been going on in Fereldan except rumors. "Talented archer, knows how to move quietly, but always was adaptable. Father praised him for it."

"Really?" I shrugged. "Well, then, let's conscript him."

"You… what?" Nathaniel yelped. I almost laughed at how startled he was. "You want a _Howe_ as a Warden?"

"Wardens take in everyone," I replied. "So, sure, why not? We made Loghain one." Not quite willingly, mind. "Let's make you one too."

"I just admitted that I originally came here to kill you."

"Oh, that's all right. I met my lover actually when he tried to assassinate me." I paused before shaking my head. "No worries. You're handsome, but I'm quite satisfied with my Zevran, thank you."

"Did you get hit on the head?" He looked to Lord Nuada. "Is he all right in the head?"

"Oh, no, he's completely and totally insane, just like the rest of us," Lord Nuada replied with a bright grin. I bit back a laugh. "Aiden, I'll handle his Joining. I'm sure you've other work to deal with."

"You sure?" I asked. I pointed to the report still in his hands. "Seems to me you do as well."

"All of us do. That's what happens when war turns into peace." That was a good point. "People need to see the Warden Commander more than they need to see the Warden Constable."

"All right." I shrugged, and walked out of the dungeons. "Welcome to the Wardens, Nathaniel. We'll talk more later."

I suppose I should get to working on drills for the soldiers. Someone had to, and I could use the workout.

* * *

Author's notes: And now we have all of our protagonists again, as well as the first three of our 'new' Wardens. The introduction scenes here will be of various NPCs, starting here with Zevran.

Next Chapter – Nuada in the Keep


	3. Chapter 3) Strengthen

Chapter 3) Strengthen

 _Nuada POV_

* * *

 _He hates himself. He hates himself so much._

 _He wishes he could be with his friends, helping them through this new threat. Maybe all he could do was make them laugh, but he knows they'd appreciate it. He knows they'd appreciate it more than these nobles he's smiling at now._

 _He wishes he could be with them. The Wardens were the first, and only, family he had ever known. It kills him that he can't help them. It kills him that he can't be the Warden anymore, when being a Warden was the best thing that ever happened to him._

 _But he makes sure it doesn't show. He makes sure his smile is genuine, and that he is the perfect mix of approachable and regal. It's a work in progress, but he tries, and he knows it works because the nobles listen to him._

 _He is the King of Fereldan, no matter how much he wishes he was still just Warden Alistair. He made his choice for his country, his home, his friends, and he would see it through. He'll be damned before he lets himself falter._

* * *

Anders was primarily a healer, and though he had some combat magic, he really did need a bit more. He found it exceedingly difficult to cast Entropy spells, but he could cast elemental and primal with ease. Though, given that Layla was definitely a 'magic knight' sort of fighter, Anders could be more defensive. It wasn't like you couldn't weaponize shields; I proved that often.

Nathaniel was a bit more difficult to determine a training plan for. He loved archery more than anything, so he'd likely focus mostly on that. He was naturally rather quiet, and definitely had a more practical, pragmatic, mindset… I could have Cleon work with him to teach him assassin tricks? I didn't think Nathaniel would balk at it, but it would be good to have him train in other weapons too. His adaptability was always good…

Of course, Oghren was giving me some difficulties too. He felt 'out of practice' and wanted to train up. But the trying part was that _he_ had been the teacher during the Blight, so coming up with a new training thing was odd. I might just throw him at Aiden, and have them spar. Oghren knew his abilities far better than I did and, more importantly, he knew his limits.

"So, you think it'll take eighty gold sovereigns to fix the walls, Master Voldrik?" I asked, making sure to not let any of my distracted thoughts appear on my face. I didn't want to accidentally insult him, after all, but these training plans did really need to be made, and made quickly. The darkspawn showed that they weren't going to wait on us. "I'm not sure if that's too much or too little, luckily for you."

"Hey, coin goes and comes, but dwarven walls don't fall," Voldrik answered with a shrug. I didn't know him well, but he had come _highly_ recommended, so I was willing to trust him. "Though it would be better if we had good granite."

"Are we lacking?"

"I said 'good' granite. I can make due with what's been given with me, especially with the gold, but if you want something better than 'decent', you need better than decent granite." He gave me a look. "So?"

"Hmmm…" I closed my eyes and went through what I knew about the treasury. The original budget had been made to account for many, _many_ more people, staying for a prolonged period of time. It hadn't been made for a handful and a bunch of funerals. "Yes, I think it can be afforded." I opened my eyes and jotted down the expense so that I didn't forget. "As for granite, I was once told that the Wending Woods has deposits. When things are a little less hectic, we can send a scouting party to confirm that."

"Excellent." He actually smiled slightly, which grew when I handed him a piece of paper authorizing him to take the money from the treasury. "Oh, Dworkin was wanting to talk to you too. He's insane, but he won't shut up either."

"I bet it's about the bombs." I was really curious about them, truthfully. They were far stronger than anything I'd ever seen, and if harnessed, they could give us quite the edge. "Tell him that I'll meet with him either later today or tomorrow. I have other things at the moment."

"Will do. Nice doing business with you." He paused, giving me a look. "So, how do you like being addressed anyway? Champion Cousland? Teyrn Cousland?"

"If you want a title, I'm here as a Warden, so 'Warden-Constable' is fine." There was too much going on. "But if things get weird or confusing, Nuada works. I'm not picky."

"Warden-Constable since we're doing business, but when that's done, I'll switch to Nuada." He rolled his shoulders, eyeing the gates dubiously. "To work for me."

"I won't keep you further." I gave him a little bow, smirking as he rolled his eyes, and left, scanning the bustling courtyard. Things were still being cleared, and everyone was busy doing _something_. Layla and Anders were in the infirmary, for instance. Nathaniel and Cleon were on patrol, with copious amounts of paper so Cleon could communicate with the others. Aiden and Oghren were moving debris, and dragging out the crushed, rotting bodies.

I was dealing with the more administrative things. Someone had to, and since the others had picked their duties first, I just went with it.

"Lord Nuada?" Herren called, catching my attention with a little wave. He smiled when I trotted over. "It's so good to see you again," he greeted, voice all honeyed innocence. I knew he was really glad about the massive pay he and Wade got for their relocating here. "Truly, we're honored to be here."

"I'm glad to hear that," I replied, tone matching his. I glanced over to Wade, who was muttering under his breath as he worked on something at the forge. "Are there issues?"

"Oh, Wade just isn't very fond of the cold." Herren spoke quickly, likely to shut down whatever complaints Wade had. They were always like this. "But there was a bit of an issue with materials?"

"Was there?"

"You know how Wade gets." He shrugged. "There's not enough 'proper' metal here to make armor for the soldiers, according to him."

"What is proper?"

"Silverite is preferred." He nodded at Wade, and I saw that Wade immediately perked up a bit at the mention. "Lesser metals will do, but he insists on silverite. And Wade is at his best when presented with a challenge, as you well know."

"Yes, I do." After all, I had commissioned all of our armor from Wade, with the promise of using dragon scales. He made Layla's rapier and Aiden's greatsword from dragon fangs. "We don't have silverite, for now, but I can look into it." There was an old silverite mine in the Wending Woods, from what I remembered. Maybe there were some old deposits that we could use, and thus not have to import raw silverite here. "Will that be acceptable?"

"Of course." Herren's eyes glittered in anticipation, and I thought I saw Wade smile before going back to his shivering. "That was the only issue, I assure you. Terribly sorry to bother."

"No, no, it's fine." I made sure to smile at them both. "Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to your creations." I left then, mostly so that I didn't get dragged into something else. I really did need to check in with Varel on some things, triple-check the budget, check that no one had fallen from the ramparts again because of a loose stone, and-

"Warden-Constable!" The soldier's call stopped me in my tracks, and I made myself smile instead of groan as they ran up and saluted. "Guest at the gates!" they reported. "Teyrna Cousland." What was Anora doing here?

"Well, I had best greet my sister-by-marriage before I get a tongue lashing," I joked, mostly to hide my confusion. "Return to your post. All will be well." I hoped, at least. I really wasn't sure why Anora would be here, after all.

But she was, indeed, here. She was dressed in simpler clothes than I was used to, likely to better fit in at Highever. It was expected that the Teyrna look 'nice', but not overtly so. I wasn't sure if they fit her better or worse than the dresses she had worn as queen, but she at least seemed more relaxed than she had been when I last saw her.

"Nuada, it is good to see you," she greeted, coming over to actually give me a hug. It wasn't quite as warm as her hugs normally were, but it was a warmer one that I expected. That alone told me her cheer wasn't completely for show. "Fergus and I heard what happened. Have you…?"

"We're still gathering all the dead," I explained, pulling away. "But we've had funerals for the first batch. We also had a funeral for Mhairi, a Warden recruit who didn't make it."

"I see." She nodded, eyes thoughtful. "And how is Layla? Has she met with the nobles yet?"

"You're just in time for that."

"Excellent. I had hoped so." She smiled slightly. "Fergus and I worried for her, and I am well-versed in navigating politics that are all too eager to demand 'perfection' from a woman, while rewarding a man for being 'tolerable'."

"You're also here to show Highever's support for the new Arlessa, and the Wardens who have made the Keep their home." I knew the game. Her laugh told me she'd known I'd pick that up. "Well, I'm glad to see you. I'm not sure about the others, but these are better circumstances, and you _did_ impress Cleon during the Siege."

"Did I?" She looked a little confused. "I shall endeavor to figure out how I did that, so I can do so again." She shook her head. "But, I will help Layla, as I am able. You have my word, Nuada. If nothing else, she is precious to my dear 'little brother'."

"And I am certain my sweet 'older sister' can give her far better advice than I can." But would Layla listen? I wasn't sure. "Regardless, let me escort you in. You must forgive the others for not greeting you. Layla is in the infirmary, Cleon is on patrol, and Aiden is helping with the rubble."

"As they should be." She took my arm and let me lead her into the Keep proper. "But come. Tell me of what you've been doing since we last saw each other? Have you proposed to Layla, by chance?"

"Anora!"

* * *

All investigations into the Fall of Highever indicated that Howe had done it all on his own. However, as the nobles of the Arling mingled and chatted, I couldn't help but watch them closely anyway. It was possible he had confederates, and I knew that while some bore Howe no love, others lost a lot with his demise, and even more with the declaration of 'Oathbreaker'. It made me nervy, and it was difficult to trust any of them.

So, I stayed in the shadows, though I gave another reasons for it. It wasn't even a lie. Layla ruled Amaranthine in her own right, and that needed to be known. She was alone when she received the oaths of fealty, and walked with Anora throughout the party.

To emphasize that he was Warden-Commander, Aiden stuck close to Cleon, and I could tell by their signs that they were snarking at _everything_. Nathaniel and Anders weren't here. Anders didn't want to leave the infirmary, and Nathaniel had volunteered to stand guard on the ramparts. I had no idea where Oghren was, but I could take a guess. There were casks here, after all.

I watched the guests, hunting for anything that seemed off. I doubted there would be anyone stupid enough to conspire against us, of course. We were heroes of the Blight, had slain thousands, and we had the favor of the king. It would be suicide, both socially and literally, to plot a rebellion. But there were other ways to subvert rulers, and I had little doubts they would try it.

Favors were _always_ a way to do that. People would trick rulers into promises, and then jump on them when they were not fulfilled. Others focused on their own interests, phrased as something selfless.

Esmerelle was one of the latter. Though she was a known supporter of Howe, lack of evidence and her own status as the Bann of the City of Amaranthine made her untouchable. She knew it, too, and tried to get Layla to agree to keeping soldiers within the City of Amaranthine, in order to keep the bulk of military with her, while trying to phrase it as an important landmark.

Eddelbrek was a bit more ambiguous. Father had called him a friend, but he'd also called Howe his _best_ friend, so I wasn't so certain on trusting his judgment on people. I wasn't certain on trusting my own judgment, despite having good memories of him. I did know him as the master of the Fereval Plains, and thus the biggest farmholder of the province. This was all the more important, considering it was one of the few farms untouched by the Blight, and thus a key source of food for Fereldan. As such, it was hard to say if he truly was being selfless when urging the soldiers to protect the farms, or if he was protecting his own interests. It was probably both.

Regardless, though, Layla chose the farms when the two of them confronted her. I knew it was because she was _all_ too aware of how much the Blight had hurt, but she was… too blunt. I didn't hear her answer, but I knew by Anora's slightly narrowed eyes and quickly hidden wince. Eddelbrek would be a friend to her, but Esmerelle would not. Esmerelle had the money and power to cause further trouble. Still, I doubted it would be anything substantial for a while.

"You're thinking too much." The voice startled me from my thoughts, and I glanced down to see Oghren, surprisingly sober all things considered. "Girls like the brooding scowly look, but you're going overboard," he teased. "Way overboard."

"Alack, alay, oh woe is me," I deadpanned. It made him laugh. "I thought you'd be drinking your weight in alcohol."

"I did. Now I'm waiting before doing it again." He glanced around the room. "Bunch of fancy schmancy stuff, huh?"

"Welcome to nobility. It's even worse in other courts."

"Bah, its better than Orzammar." That was true. "But you're thinking too much. You're making all sorts of plans."

"I'm the tactician."

"Of course, but seriously, lad." He gave me a serious look. "You're doing okay with them visually being in command, but they need to lead. You've got enough on your plate without doing their jobs."

"I know, Oghren." I sighed. "But things are insane, so I need to-"

"You need to make sure they're making their own mistakes. Otherwise, they'll never really be leaders. I know you're trying, but most of the stuff in earlier really should've been handled by them, not you." He reached up as high as he could to pat my back. "Look, I won't stop you today. But you make sure to tell them what all you're doing, so that they're in the loop. And you leave the rest of those things to them."

"I…" I sighed again. "You're right."

"You just want to help them, Nuada. I get it." He shrugged. "But sometimes, you can only help a person by stepping back."

"Is that…?" No, that wasn't right to ask, especially now. "Never mind. I'll… try to do as you say."

"You're used to overworking."

"I'm a Cousland." Other people's 'overwork' was our normal. It wasn't healthy, but that was just… how we were. "So, I can only promise to try."

"Well, trying will make you stronger, spiritually." He shrugged. "Now, if you don't mind, there's a keg with my name on it."

"Please don't go scaring the guests about talking pants again." I grinned as he snickered. "Later, Oghren."

"Go get a drink, Nuada, and make eyes at your girl. Aiden and Cleon will worry if you don't." Times like this reminded me that Oghren was much smarter than he acted. "But now, to alcohol!"

"Yes, yes." It would be good to relax a bit, and there was that balcony that… "I'll do just that." Then I'd show Aiden and Layla what all I had done, finish some things up, and then I'd…

* * *

Author's Notes: Unless she is queen, Anora doesn't show up at all in the Awakening expansion. This is obviously being changed to give her a little more exposure, in a different situation to let the other three Wardens actually gain opinions on her. All the things mentioned in the courtyard are part of 'strengthening the keep', a very important task. Training schedules mentioned are a bit of a nod to the 'manuals of focus' that let you reset your chars and change skill allocations, and how Anders and Nathaniel will likely have a BUNCH of skill and level up points when you recruit them.

Next Chapter – It Comes from Beneath with Cleon


	4. Chapter 4) Lost Ones

Chapter 4) Lost Ones

 _Cleon POV_

* * *

 _She misses him. She missed all of them, of course, but she misses him the most. She misses having his warmth at her side as she sleeps. She misses waking up to his sleeping, peaceful face. She misses his teasing. She misses his smile._

 _She curls into herself, arms wrapped protectively around her swelling belly. Their child grows in her womb. Their child, with the soul of an Old God… she will raise them well. She will raise them with care. She is determined to not be like her mother. Not when she has had so many good examples of what love, of all kinds, was really like._

 _Besides, their child… his child… deserves a happy home, much happier than hers._

* * *

Sometimes, I wondered if the Creators liked poking at our lives. Just when we were trying to figure out a good way to 'test' all of us on how our training was going, a soldier mentioned that there might be darkspawn still in the Vigil. Dworkin's bombs made the deep cellars cave in, leaving pockets. Possibly. It seemed perfect for our needs. Too perfect, really. I wondered when the punch to the gut was going to come. Things never went well for us for long.

'The Vigil goes deep, real deep,' Nuada signed as we walked down the stairs into the cellars. 'Some of the areas have been crumbling for decades. This area in particular was always a 'do not play' zone.' He paused as his head tilted to the side and nodded. 'Nathaniel just reminded me that there are some cells down here, and crypts.'

'If we fight undead again, I'm leaving the Keep to it,' Aiden grumbled, scowling as he signed. 'Redcliffe was more than enough.'

'Actually, what Nathaniel was trying to say is that some people might've run down here.' All of us paused as we caught _that_ implication, and then Aiden, Cleon, and I gave Nuada a _look_. 'Oh, don't look at me like that!' Nuada scowled in response. 'This isn't a case of me thinking you knew something! This is a case of me not knowing, or remembering, something. I just know more about the Keep than you three; I don't know everything about said Keep!'

I knew I wasn't the only one to be skeptical, because Nuada's scowl only deepened. I felt bad about it, but at the same time, I remembered how he would often forget to tell us things. The fact that he stormed ahead, noticeably agitated, told me, though, that he really hadn't known. But I could also tell that he wasn't going to accept an apology right now.

So, instead, we kept heading down, soon coming into an open space. Dead soldiers and deader darkspawn were scattered about the room, as if they were broken dolls. In the center of that was a mabari, breathing noticeably labored.

I knelt beside her, carefully checking her over while the others checked the room. She was distressed, and her fur was patchy, covered in mud and blood. Slowly and carefully, I petted her, focusing on calming her down. I found a small scroll bound to her, but I chose to focus more on her. One of the others took the scroll instead, to make it easier on me.

There was some sort of commotion over my head, but I focused on the mabari, noticing how her breathing evened. I sensed no Taint in her, but I wondered if she would survive…

Someone tapped my shoulder, drawing my attention up to see Layla hovering over me. She took my hand and spelled out a name: 'Adria.' Then she let go so that she could sign, 'the scroll is a message from her, stating that there are people taking shelter below in the cellars. She's an old retainer of the place; Nathaniel mentions she was like a mother to him.'

'Well, that's all the more reason to save her,' I signed back. However, I couldn't leave the mabari like this. 'Let's get a soldier to tend to the mabari first, though.'

'If you give me a moment, Anders and I might be able to heal her.' She crouched down by the mabari and brought her hands up to call her magic. Anders soon joined her, and the two of them cast some sort of healing spell.

I watched the spell, worried that it wouldn't take. But, thankfully, it did, and it wasn't long at all before the mabari was able to slowly get to her feet. She teetered, of course, but she was standing. That was a good sign.

'I will take her up,' Layla signed. She smiled wryly when I looked at her. 'This looks deeper than I thought.' She pointed to a door and I saw that it had been opened while I'd been tending to the mabari, and that it clearly led to further below. 'I cannot leave the infirmary for that long. So, I will head up.'

'Stay safe,' I signed, automatically. She made a face and I smiled sheepishly before standing and nudging Anders to follow me. The others were heading below; I assumed Layla had already told them she would not be joining us.

So, instead, we kept on going, and soon found a horrifying sight. There were people in the cells here. Living people, but just barely. Considering how long it had been, they had to be suffering from dehydration and hunger. At least, I almost hoped? The other explanation was that they had turned to eating the corpses of the soldiers or darkspawn, which were… well… I preferred thinking the former.

I stayed back as Aiden and Anders talked to the prisoners, keeping my back to a wall. Nuada and Nathaniel worked on opening a door that I assumed led further down. Oghren poked at the corpses, checking if they were all really dead, but the slow way he moved told me he was more doing that to have something to do. It felt like he had something to say as well, based on how he kept opening his mouth before snapping it shut and shaking his head. I wondered what it was.

But then, there was no more time to wander. Aiden and Anders opened the cells to let the prisoners out, and Oghren volunteered to lead them out. Since Nathaniel and Nuada had gotten the door open, the rest of us continued down. Dread pooled in my stomach, though, the farther we went. My instincts were screaming, and I had a very, very bad feeling about all of this.

My bad feeling was confirmed when we stepped out of the hall and into another open area. The Taint was thick enough to smell, and when one of them turned, I saw black splotches on their face, and the glazed look in their eyes. Just like Tamlen, but just a little less. Not quite as far gone, but would be soon. A ghoul.

A hand snatched my arm, and startled, I whirled to see Nathaniel beside me. He talked rapidly, and I stared blankly before using my free hand to cover my ear. His eyes widened and he let go of me to snag Nuada. The two of them talked quickly before Nuada sighed and brought his hands up. 'That woman is Adria,' he signed. I assumed, at least. He more pointed to Nathaniel and then used the sign for 'mother', but that was the only meaning I could figure out. 'He wants to know if there is a way to save her, and Aiden is too busy trying to calm down Anders to explain.'

'And you are not explaining because…?' I signed back, giving him an exasperated look. 'You know they can't.'

'Well, I was hoping I was wrong.' He shrugged and turned to Nathaniel, making sure to sign so that I could stay in the conversation. 'As I told you before, Nathaniel, there is no way to save them. I don't think even the Joining would work when they're this far gone.'

'But…!' Nathaniel hissed, posture stiff and eyes blazing. Nuada calmly signed for me. 'There must be… Please, she is…'

'I am sorry. But considering they're about to attack us, I don't think we'll even get the chance to check if the Joining could work.' He pointed for emphasis, and I saw the ghouls _were_ prepping to fight, with broken knives they could barely hold. This was… 'You can fall back if you need to.'

'…No.' Nathaniel shook his head, and looked so resigned that _I_ felt like crying. 'I owe her that much.' He had his bow up and the arrow notched, not really taking a refusal. 'Please.'

Nuada nodded, and glanced at me to silently ask if I thought it was a bad idea. I simply shrugged, and nudged the others to target the other ghouls. It wasn't hard. There were many. But it was almost like another training session, for all the effort it took. We were trained warriors; these were civilians who had been transformed into ghouls. They couldn't, and didn't, put up much of a fight.

So, after a second that felt like eternity, all of the ghouls were dead. The one named Adria had two arrows in her chest, showing that Nathaniel had been the one to kill her, just as he asked.

Oghren arrived after that, bringing with him some soldiers. The tired look in his eyes told me the real reason why he'd gone back: he had known this was all we were going to find. I felt a flash of resentment that he hadn't told us, but I supposed it made sense. He hadn't _known_ , and he'd hoped he was wrong.

The soldiers said something. Aiden brought up his hands to translate for me, but I waved it away. I didn't need to know what they were saying. The hero-worship in their eyes made it clear what it was, and surrounded by the corpses of those we couldn't save? That was the last thing I needed. Instead, I just lingered back, feeling so tired and like I needed to take twenty baths in the hopes of getting the blood off. I was used to mercy kills, but something like this…

I didn't start paying attention again until Voldrik the stonemason walked up. Only then did I signal someone to start signing for me. Oghren gladly cooperated.

'So, this is how humans ply their stonecraft?' Voldrik said, studying the large amount of stone blocking the hall. 'Disgraceful.' He rolled his eyes, and looked so offended that I couldn't help but grin. 'Barely last a few centuries.' He shrugged, and turned to face us. 'I wager that these tunnels go deep. Based on what I sense, I'd guess they'd go even into the Deep Roads.' That would explain the ambush then.

'That presents a problem,' Nuada signed. His hands were light, but his expression was serious. 'There are entrances all over the Keep. Even if the place was fully staffed, there would be no way to guard them all. Our best hope is to find a single point to guard this area.'

'True, very true.' Voldrik shrugged. 'Still, it wouldn't surprise me if there was one. This area is set up almost like a thaig. I understand that Highever might have a former one they use as a refuge.'

'You're talking about Lowever.' Nuada nodded, turning thoughtful. 'That is one of the theories about it.'

'The Dwarven kingdom used to sprawl all across Thedas before the first Blight. If this Keep is built on top of an old thaig, then there would be that one path, easily. That's how they were made.' Voldrik looked at the stone. 'We just need to clear this first. It will take a while, though.'

'If that is the case, then there is no reason for us to linger,' Aiden signed. He looked sadly at the corpses, and I knew I wasn't the only one who felt ill. If we had realized sooner what had happened, what was going on, could we have saved them? How could we defeat a _Blight_ and still not have the strength to save the people around us? 'For now, we have more for the funerals.'

Falon'din, watch over them and grant them peace.

* * *

'We have spent too long here.' Aiden's signs were sharp, and it was clear by how he paced and how much he glowered that he was angry with himself more than anyone. 'There were people who needed help, yet we ignored them.'

'No one told us,' Nuada signed. He was sprawled out on the floor, providing a barrier to keep Aiden from pacing the length of the room. 'The mabari will be fine, though.'

'Oh, well, that's great!' Aiden's signs continued to be sharp, agitated. 'Hooray for us! We saved a-!' Of course, Nuada pulled out his leg from under him, resulting in Aiden falling with a thud that made the floor vibrate and the table tremble.

'You done?' Nuada sat up, looking completely unamused. 'The way that I see it, we did all that we could. You arrived during an ambush and saved the place. You worked on strengthening everything so that something like this did not happen again. We cannot become obsessed with the ones we-!'

'Like what nobles did with the elves that died?!' Aiden was back to signing, sharper than ever. Layla and I exchanged alarmed looks, and gave up pretending to work on potions and balms. 'Oh, boohoo, look at those we couldn't save, even though we make the laws?!'

'Damn it! I told you that politics plays a long game!'

As the two of them descended into some sort of argument, with barely any signs for me to keep track, I turned to Layla. 'Did I miss something?' I signed. She looked as confused as I did. 'What are they saying?'

'It is nothing that I can really follow,' she signed back. She looked worried. 'I have never seen them argue before.' Honestly, Aiden and Nuada had always done their best to avoid arguing with anyone. I wasn't sure if it was good or bad that they argued with each other. 'But, whatever it is, I am assuming it has something to do with some of Alistair's new policies?' She shrugged, telling me that she had no idea what those were. 'Should we intervene?'

'Do we have to get in the middle of that?' I glanced over again and saw the two were really into whatever this argument was. 'I would rather not.'

'I agree.' She sighed, shaking her head. 'I think we need to go out and do something if only to give them time to cool their heads.'

'Same.' So, I pushed aside the potions and balms we had been working on and looked to some of the reports given to us. 'Looks like there are two hunters who stumbled across a cave of darkspawn and an entrance to the Deep Roads.'

'There is also a request from the merchant's guild to look into the caravans that were ambushed on Pilgrim's Path, near the Wending Wood.' Layla pointed to it. 'How about I take this one and you take the other?'

'Yes, I like that idea.' Not really, but I knew the Wending Wood. There were Clans who wandered there often. If this was a Clan attacking shemlen for being too close, I wasn't sure if I could resolve it peacefully. I might have grown, yes, but I remembered how merchants often treated my people. 'I would suggest, however, that you take Aiden. Our last trip to the Deep Roads wasn't kind on him.'

'More importantly, Nuada might be more willing to confide in you.' She looked a little annoyed, and I had a feeling that there were some issues simmering there too. 'I think I can get Aiden to talk about what is going on as well.'

'Then that's what we'll do.' I was concerned by these arguments, but at the same time, I wondered if it was just a consequence of us trying to rebuild after a war, and having different backgrounds. We hadn't initially gotten along during the Blight, after all, even if we avoided most arguments. 'I want Oghren to come with us.'

'You should take Nathaniel too. He and Nuada could talk some.' She shrugged. 'Anders and I have catching up to do anyway.'

'Then let's go with that.' I glanced to the side, and noticed to my surprise that Aiden and Nuada were… working on something. 'What happened?'

'I think Nuada changed the subject.' She pointed to the paper between them. 'I heard something about supplies or budget?'

'I see.' I frowned, though, as I noticed that both of them were holding themselves stiffly. They hadn't reached a conclusion; they had just thrown it into the corner to work on something else. That wasn't healthy… and, then again, this was expected. Both of them were used to swallowing their anger. Even if they got a bit better during the Blight, they still would have the old habits. I was sure Layla and I also had habits we needed to continue to grow out of. Like how I was naturally biased against shemlen during Dalish-shemlen conflicts.

So, I pushed myself up slightly, nudged them in the back to catch their attention, and waved them over when they turned to look. We always did most of our growing when we were out solving problems.

Perhaps we needed to be a bit more mature to rebuild everything.

* * *

Author's note: It Comes From Beneath is another of the 'strengthening the keep' quests, and actually shows you how the darkspawn were able to sneak up on the Keep. The mabari, iirc, dies in game, but I didn't have that considering how this quests ends.

Next Chapter – Wending Woods with Layla


	5. Chapter 5) Vengeful Woods

Chapter 5) Vengeful Forest

 _Layla POV_

* * *

 _Her joints ache. She'd never experienced that pain before. She'd always been lucky, as she got older, that her body remained the same. Oh, there were wrinkles, spots, little signs of aging. But physically, she'd been strong and without pain._

 _Now that isn't the case. Slowly but surely, her body is deteriorating, a subtle reminder of how she had been dead, and came back. She is a walking corpse, an abomination who has some sanity. But this won't last long. She knows it can't._

 _A feeling of gentle reassurance washes through her, and she smiles slightly. The Spirit of Faith does its best to ensure that she is happy and calm, perhaps as an apology for forcing this change on her, for bringing this pain to her. She wishes she knew how to send back 'it is okay'. But maybe it knows anyway._

 _For now, though, she has her duties. There is a conclave, and there is a selfish desire she wishes to see. Her son… she wants to see him once before she dies. She wants to see how he grew up. Who had he taken after in looks? Did he have magic? Was it magic like hers? She had so many questions, and now… now is the time to see them answered._

 _After the Conclave. The Circle couldn't afford to break off just yet._

* * *

I imagined that the Wending Woods were lovely on a normal day. It was certainly nice to be in a place that was not quite so brown. However, some of the color was orange and grey due to fire and soot. We also had bodies strewn about. It was clear just what happened to the caravans we were supposed to be investigating. They all died.

It was probably a very bad thing that I barely reacted. I just tried to save those I could, and finding that there were none, I sighed and kept moving forward. Anders had been sick once or twice.

"Aiden, might I ask you something?" I asked as we walked down the path, away from the burning caravan. Anders trailed behind us, perfectly silent and looking miserable.

"Did you not just ask something, Mistress Layla?" Aiden instantly teased. He glanced worriedly at Anders too, but did not say anything. I knew he did not want to coddle Anders, even if he did want to help him.

"Are you developing a habit of answering a question with a question?" I grinned as he rolled his eyes. "Fine, I shall revise the statement. Might I ask you about something serious?"

"Granted that I hold the right to refuse."

"Of course." I glanced back at Anders one more time before diving in. "It is the argument you and Nuada had."

"Oh. That." Aiden sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. He looked around the area, checking for attackers. His eyes narrowed at the nearby cliff. "Layla?"

"Hold one moment." I called on my blood magic and stretched my senses to see what I could find. "I think it is simply a wolf." It did not 'feel' like anything bigger.

"They'll likely avoid us, then." Aiden shook his head. "Right. Argument." He took his time to gather his thoughts, so I waited patiently, using the blood magic to check the surrounding area. "Alistair is working on getting reparations for the Alienage, beyond what has already been granted, and strengthening the laws in general for our protection."

"That seems like something you would like." I paused as I remembered what Nuada had said. "Oh, but they are moving slowly."

"Yes, that is the rub." He drooped. "That is definitely the rub."

"We are heroes. Can we not capitalize on that?"

"Loghain tried that." He sighed. "We have more political allies, but honestly, Alistair's hold on the throne isn't that strong, Mistress Layla. A hidden bastard is convenient, and even though the Landsmeet voted Lady Elspeth as queen and gave Lord Nuada Gwaren, there are many who think they put Alistair in as a puppet king so that the Couslands could rule. There are just as many who believe Eamon is the puppeteer, and given how he treated Alistair until he was 'useful'..." He shook his head. "Many also think Alistair was pushed forward just to drive Anora out of power. Many think that it is sexist, and condemning a woman for being ambitious."

"That is not why we…"

"Yes, I know. But we cannot know why people voted the way they did that day." He ran a hand through his hair. "Even Lord Nuada admits that it is possible Fergus set Anora up for a fall so that he could have her help running Highever. He doesn't want to believe it, but he admits the possibility."

I felt icky just hearing it. "So, even though we saved the country from the Blight, we cannot really do much."

"We can, but slowly. I understand that. Logically." He groaned. "But emotionally, I can't accept it. My people have suffered so much, and now they have to wait even longer?"

"So, you and Nuada argued, because he knows how these things work." A little anger bled into my voice there, and I sighed. "Oh, I should not have said that."

"It seems you have some problems as well." He smiled gently. "So?"

"…I suppose I am a little… vexed… with how Nuada runs around helping, but then disappears when I actually have a question?" That seemed to be the best way to describe it. "Anora is a bit of the same. I feel like they are just waiting for me to fail and then they swoop in to save things, but…"

"I cannot speak for Anora, but Lord Nuada…" He shook his head. "No, I find that very hard to believe for him."

"Logically, I understand that. Emotionally, I feel like he is leaving me." I sighed, whimpering a little. "It does not help that because of duties, we have not seen each other much. I am _lonely_. But I do not know how to explain that to him, especially since he seems to be just fine."

"Because Lord Nuada always shows his thoughts on his face." His voice was dry, but he smiled when I scowled. "I suppose I should also mention he's used to losing things to duty. How many times did we hear him and Lady Elspeth justify pain with 'I am a Cousland'?"

"It was far too many for my liking." I glowered at the ground, kicking a stone as we passed. "But that is what is going on. I fear snapping at him about it, but that might be good for both of us anyway."

"I wonder…" He looked thoughtful suddenly, crossing his arms. "Lord Nuada is aware that he has bad habits. Many of these habits are detrimental to his physical health." He glanced at me. "Again, I cannot speak for Anora, but I wonder if Lord Nuada runs when you seek advice because he fears you developing those bad habits."

"He could just say that."

"Again, this is Lord Nuada. When does he just say anything?"

"I suppose you are correct." I knew it would be rough, being in love with him. But the happiness he brought me was worth it. "So, if I may return to your original problem, I wonder if Nuada cites the slowness to keep from being angry himself?"

"You know; you're probably right." He sighed. "He and I will have a proper talk when we get back."

"That would be nice. It was unnerving, seeing you two argue."

"You and Cleon should argue to show us how odd it was."

"I would rather not."

"Are you two done?" Anders suddenly asked sulkily. He looked annoyed when we both whirled. "I've just been the awkward… whatever… for a while."

"…Right, we're traveling with only three people," Aiden murmured. He facepalmed. "I'm sorry, Anders. I'm used to not having 'odd' numbers to travel with."

"Of course, we also wished to give you time to recover," I pointed out hesitantly. I still should have checked on him, though. "You may think of it as payback for those conversations you, Neria, and Jowan had over my head?"

" _Those_ conversations were Neria and I talking about our lovers," Anders retorted. "And Jowan taking notes." He waggled his eyebrows, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Though, Layla, if you need tips for pleasing a male lover…" He laughed as I went red. "Thought so~"

"Well, what about me?" Aiden asked, smirking. "What if I ask for tips?"

"Well, dear Commander, I would be happy to oblige!" Anders snapped his fingers. "Though, I think some of my tips won't work for you. They involve magic."

"Magic?"

"I have this delightful little electricity trick that the girls at the brothel liked, for instance." Anders grinned. "You can also use fire magic to heat up your hands, and bring warmth to… ah… certain areas?"

"Just say the word. I'm not going to care."

"For shame! I never said _what_ areas!"

"I am not listening!" I yelped, covering my ears. My face was burning. "Lalalalala, I am not listening! Lalalala-"

A sudden pulse of magic stopped all conversation, and I could only stare as the trees _bent_ to block our path, as if they were alive. What was…?

"More scavengers here to prey on the misfortune of others?" The voice was dry, almost brittle, and the owner of the voice could give Morrigan lessons on smugness. She stood on the cliff above us, posture tense with anger, and her expression was somewhere between a glare and a snarl. "No, that likely isn't it," she continued when none of us answered her. "You are too well armed, and the shem do not let their mages out of their cages."

"I take it she hasn't heard of 'apostates'," Anders muttered as she continued to grumble to herself. His eyes narrowed. "If she were a little older, I'd be worried about an apoplexy."

"I thought I noticed anger, but is it really so much?" I asked him, keeping one wary eye on the trees. She had to be the reason why they had moved, after all. I sensed the magic in her just as clearly as her anger.

"Yeah, it's a lot." Anders winced slightly. "If I'm not careful, I'll be overwhelmed by it."

"How would that…?" I snapped my fingers as I remembered. "I had forgotten about your Empathy."

"It's fine. It's just my luck I get something rare."

"Tell me later," Aiden hissed. He glanced back at us. "She's focused on us again."

"You will not drive me from these woods!" the girl snapped, eyes blazing in fury. Anders winced, and I reached over to take his hand. "The shemlen couldn't do it, the darkspawn couldn't, and neither will you!"

"Miss, we are Wardens." Aiden pitched his voice carefully, keeping his tone neutral but authoritative. "We are looking into some troubles here."

"Oh, so, you're here to battle the darkspawn?" Her anger faded almost instantly, and I frowned. That was not healthy. "Well, that's fine. If you see any merchants, though, tell them to release my sister or more of their men will die." She shrugged. "Now go, deal with the darkspawn, _and stay out of my way_!"

Branches enveloped her, and then she just… disappeared, leaving behind only the echo of her words.

Well, that was a way to make everything serious again.

* * *

"So, explain this Empathy to me again?" Aiden asked as we continued to walk through the woods. I wondered if he truly did not quite grasp it, or if he was using the conversation as a distraction. The woods were eerily quiet, with little to no signs of animals. All the adventure books I read at the Tower made it clear that was a very bad thing.

"The absolute basics of it is that I can sense people's emotions," Anders explained, clearly having no issues with going over it again. "It can be helpful in figuring out what's wrong in a patient that can't communicate, and it lets me project a calming influence to keep them stable while I work."

"Can you project other emotions?" Aiden held up a low hanging branch so that Anders and I could pass. We were just wandering about, looking for signs of… anything. "Like anger? Fear?"

"In theory, yes, but I'd have to be in pretty close proximity to hold it for an extended time." He shrugged. "So, it's not really good for influencing people. It's better for a shock thing."

"I wonder if it'll work on darkspawn." Aiden let the branch fall behind us. "So, I take it it's not something a lot of mages have?"

"Nope!" Anders grinned. "Layla doesn't have it at all~"

"Layla is capable of turning me to mulch with a punch, even with all the armor, so I don't think it matters." Aiden smiled and Anders blanched. "Layla, you want to show him on that rock over there?"

"No, I do not," I replied, smiling slightly. It made me happy that he jumped to my defense, even if it was not necessary. "Anders is just making a joke. I was once jealous over the ability before I learned the consequences."

"The consequence being that I sense _emotions_ of people," Anders groaned. He ran a hand through his hair. "Normally, it's not a problem, especially since I'm all nice and trained in the ability. But if there's a particular strong emotion, I can get battered." He sighed, drooping. "You ever want me to describe the emotional anguish someone being beaten to death experiences, let me know."

I remembered that day clearly. A templar had tried to molest a mage, but another mage stopped him. So, he had turned his rage on her. By the time everyone managed to get there, the second mage was dead. Greagoir had been so furious that he executed the templar himself. Things were safer for mages after that, but it didn't change what Anders had 'felt' during the whole thing. That had been the day I stopped being jealous.

"Are there others like it?" Aiden asked, wisely changing the subject. We hit a fork in the path and he led us down one at random. "How do you find and train these things?"

"Yeah, there are a few others," Anders answered, perking up slightly. "Foresight is one, the ability to see or sense the future. I think Cleon might have that, actually."

"Cleon isn't a mage."

"But he has a _strong_ mage potential, which can be enough for one of these to grow. But not very strong, you know?" He shrugged. "So, he doesn't _see_ the future, but he's got very sharp instincts. I think, anyway. There's not a lot of research on this."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's only within the last twenty years or so that people decided this was actually a thing, and not mages being oversensitive."

"So, like those 'warrior mages'?"

"What's that?"

"I shall explain later, but you would find it very interesting," I cut in. I frowned, slightly, feeling my magic 'buzz'. "But it has to do with mages whose magic flows through them differently." Finally, I held up a hand, making them both stop. "I sense blood." I sensed a _lot_ of blood, truthfully. "It's this way."

Quietly and carefully, I followed power the blood left behind, knowing that Aiden and Anders were only a step behind me. It did not take long at all for us to find the _giant pit of bodies_. The smell alone was nauseating, and I knew there was no hope of survivors here. So, I turned away without looking too closely, instead choosing to follow a slight sense of 'living' blood that was a short distance away. I heard sounds of a scuffle, and knew that Aiden was dragging Anders away. Anders was kind, and would have wanted to check if anyone could be saved, even if it seemed impossible.

My heart ached for my friend, but I could not say anything. It took all my concentration to follow the 'living' blood. Thankfully, though, it did not take long to find the source and, on seeing him, I knew why the sense had been so weak. He was not long for this world.

"Who are you?" I whispered as his eyes slowly focused on me. Aiden and Anders fell in beside me, and I shifted to hold Anders's hand, partially to give him comfort and partially to keep him from running for the man. His hand was slick with blood. "Why are you here?"

"Olaf… my name is…" the man rasped. He was sprawled on the ground, with an injury to his leg bleeding sluggishly. He smelled of rot and the Taint. "Came with friends… militia… to drive off the elves. But the darkspawn were too quick." He shook his head. "Ripped apart. Biting claws and teeth from shadows." He shuddered. "Everyone dead. Dead, soft meat falling from cracked bone, melting into the earth." His mind must have snapped from the trauma. That was why he spoke so… brokenly.

"You said 'elves'," Aiden whispered. His eyes were somehow both gentle and hard. "The one we encountered mentioned a sister. Are you the ones responsible?"

"No. That was darkspawn." He shook his head, hard enough that I worried he'd snap his neck. "Darkspawn slaughtered them. Slaughtered us. Took our steel. Left in the camp." He started laughing. "Now, she thinks we're to blame. Hunts all in her rage, while they watch." He started hacking. "Ah… darkness…"

It took a few seconds to realize he had died. For an almost dead guy, he had certainly talked quite a lot.

"So, all these people _died_ because of a… misunderstanding?" Anders breathed, breaking the silence. His eyes went wide. "Maker, that's… horrible…" Clutching my hand, he looked to Aiden. "We have to stop her. Tell her she's wrong."

"You are correct, but there is something else that worries me more," Aiden whispered. He stared at the corpse. "If he's not completely mad, then the darkspawn _framed_ the humans. That requires some keen intelligence. To plot. To take advantage." He sighed and turned to face us. "That is not something darkspawn should have."

"That is all the more reason to find her quickly, though. If they went through that much trouble, then maybe they're plotting something and she's unwittingly helping." Anders set his jaw stubbornly. "I can find her, easily."

"How?"

"Same thing I was explaining to you earlier. I can use Empathy to track her." He hesitated before adding, "besides, with this much death, the Veil is thin, and that much anger in her will attract a rage demon. I think the situation is bad enough without flaming abominations."

"That would be very, very bad," I agreed, shivering. I leaned a bit more into Anders. "Abominations keep many of the abilities of their former selves, and this girl bent the trees."

"...All right, I give," Aiden sighed. He smiled wryly. "Let's save a girl from herself. That might be good for all of us." He nodded to Anders. "Do what you can?"

"You got it," Anders murmured. He closed his eyes, and I knew he was stretching out his senses. I knew he had found the girl when he started trembling. "Got her." He opened his eyes and nodded to a hill not far from where we are. "She's there. There's sorrow in the anger, so it might be where…"

"Well, maybe she'll be more willing to talk if we're surrounded by the dead." Aiden started down the path. "Let's go."

"We're behind you, sir."

It took a while to pick our way up to the camp. It was well hidden, and there were many sudden drops in this part of the woods. But, eventually, we made it to the camp. It was strangely clean, save for the scattered weapons and the little bits of blood. I wondered for a moment how this was so, but then saw the signs of hasty cleaning, of badly mended tents. Someone had done their level best to restore the camp to how it had been. It was all too easy to figure out who. After all, the girl was in the center of this empty, silent camp, kneeling in prayer beside several carefully constructed graves.

Aiden deliberately kicked a stone, catching her attention. She whirled to her feet, magic blossoming in her hands. She glared when she saw us, but made no move to cast a spell.

"I thought you were here only for the darkspawn," she growled instead. Her magic flickered around her protectively. "What are you doing here?"

"We just want to talk," Aiden sighed. I really regretted not having Cleon with us. He probably could have gotten her to calm down quickly, just by their shared heritage. "Specifically about how the darkspawn tricked you."

"Impossible. Darkspawn are mindless-"

"I am a Warden who fought during a Blight. I know how darkspawn are supposed to act." Aiden's voice was dry, and it was clear he was not going to let the girl ramble. "Lies are supposed to be believable. Though, I can see a pretty clear flaw in their set up, just looking around."

"And that is?"

"Why would they just leave their weapons behind?" He paused, waiting, and the girl flinched. "You thought of it too, but then you let your rage and self-righteousness overwhelm you in your grief. Yes?"

"I…" She shook her head. "Humans were always, _always_ … they had recently tried to burn us out! It was far more logical that they… when they always…!" Her magic disappeared, her concentration broken. "Why would the darkspawn _do_ this?" Her voice cracked and she hugged herself to hide her shaking. "Why would they kill everyone, take my sister, and frame shemlen?"

"Well, if there was more than one girl missing, I might have an idea, but I don't know why they stole only one." He shrugged. "We're going to find out. Do you want to come along?"

"You will let me?" Her eyes shone, but she quickly flinched back. "I… you have no reason to trust me."

"But I don't have a reason _not_ to trust you either. Not really."

"I fell for the deceptions, and killed all these people!" She shook slightly. I wondered what she felt, and glanced to Anders, but he only shook his head. "But, you…" She sighed. "No, you've already taken that into account. You choose to let me come anyway."

"Yes, I'm smarter than the average 'flat ear'." Aiden's voice went even drier, and she winced. "Yes, I know how Dalish tend to view city elves like myself. Cleon told me, but that doesn't really-"

"Cleon? Cleon Mahariel?" Her eyes lit up. "You know him?"

"We're friends." Aiden crossed his arms. "Does it matter?"

"Cleon Mahariel is one of the greatest of the Dalish hunters, respected by all the Keepers. He is the pride of the Dalish, and especially the Sabrae Clan." She had a small blush on her face, and I almost wondered if she had a crush on him. "He's… oh, enough of that!" She went back to scowling. "How do you know him?"

"He became a Warden during the Blight, and is now the Hero of Fereldan, slayer of the Archdemon." Aiden's eyes narrowed as she smiled smugly. "I am Aiden Tabris, Commander of the Grey Wardens." She gestured to me. "This is Lady-Warden Layla Amell, Arlessa of Amaranthine." He gestured to Anders. "And this is Warden Anders, head of our healers." Anders had no such title, but I had a feeling he was doing what he could to make this girl _listen_.

"I see…" It seemed to have worked. After all, she bowed respectfully. "I am Velanna, former First of my Clan, since you care for such things." Though, her voice went back to smug dryness. "Do you know where the darkspawn might dwell?"

"We will want a place with tunnels," I chimed in, mostly because I thought Aiden had talked enough. I smiled as she turned her attention to me. "They live below, in the Deep Roads."

"In that case, we will want to head to the abandoned mine, to the north," Velanna answered, pointing down the path. "I can show you."

"We welcome the aid."

"Especially from such a looker," Anders instantly teased. "Wow, can you imagine what her sister would look like though?" He whistled appreciatively and laughed as Velanna glared. "Easy, easy. I can see what happens to those that take your sister away from you." He bowed with a little dramatic flourish. "If you will lead, then?"

Velanna muttered something under her breath before stomping down the path. Anders followed her easily, but I lingered as I noticed Aiden sigh and rub his temples.

"Are you okay?" I asked, stepping to his side. I brought my hand up to heal him, but he shook his head. "What is wrong?"

"If Cleon knew this had something to do with Dalish, I'm going to have a few words," Aiden grumbled. "I should have expected something when he chose to go to the Deep Roads."

"He said the journey was not kind on you."

"It wasn't any kinder on _him_." He sighed. "Well, I can scold him about it later, and I do mean 'scold', not argue. That's not fun for any of us." No, it was not. "We're being left behind."

With a squeak, I realized he was right, and both of us bolted after Anders and Velanna, catching up to them just as Velanna used an earth fist to bust open the locked door and lead us down the rickety staircase. It was moist, filled with mold and moss, and I swore it was going to collapse underneath us.

But, surprisingly, it held up. It was not until we made it to the bottom of the staircase that we ran into trouble. A glyph pulsed under us, brimming with powerful magic. It wrapped around us, and everything started spinning.

"Shh…" A voice echoed through the air, and I dragged my attention up as the world started to turn black. "Sleep…" There, up on a cliff above us, was a strangely elongated person and a dwarf. I knew the person was the source of the magic. "All will be well."

As the magic dragged me to slumber, I wondered why the voice thought we would trust it when it pulled a trick like a Sloth demon. I could only pray that I would not have to travel through the Fade, again.

* * *

Author's Note: 'Empathy' and 'Foresight' are not things known to the Dragon Age lore, as far as I am aware. I threw that in for a bit of fun. But here's Velanna! I believe you have another encounter with her that's more of a fight, but I left that out to keep things running.

Next Chapter – Silverite Mines with Aiden


	6. Chapter 6) Silver Shadows

Chapter 6) Silver Shadows

 _Aiden POV_

* * *

 _He had missed his home. Finally, everything was right. It was the right smells, the right noise. It was all 'right'._

 _Yet, even as he thought that, he found himself thinking nostalgically for the smell of pine and dog. The crackling fire instead of the roar of the sea. The laughter of his companions, instead of the chatter in the streets here. He missed them. He missed them._

 _They shook a number of things. He had reinterpreted orders just to stay and help. They had taught him that there was strength among the bas. When the Qunari came to conquer them, he found himself hoping he would not see them on the battlefield._

 _Now, he waited. The Arishok was not here, out on his own mission, and so, there were discussions as to who would hear his report. He also knew they were discussing whether or not he needed to be re-educated. He was certain he did. But, strangely, he couldn't bring himself to care. In his eyes, he had simply saw the spirit of the Qun in bas. Perhaps that was not a bad thing._

 _He hoped that they were well. After they had fought so strongly, they deserved a bit of rest._

* * *

I was on something cold. Stone? I thought it was stone. A slab of cold stone. Slowly, I opened my eyes, narrowing them as I tried to focus on what was around me. A cage… some golden things… another cage… light… blinding light...

"So, you are the Commander of the Grey Wardens…" A darkspawn, talking quietly as it leaned over me. A Warden next to him, a dwarf who looked almost like a genlock, but with decaying skin. "Do not be frightened. Your injuries have been tended to."

"What are you?" I tried to say. It came out as a slurred jumble though sounding more like 'waru'.

"I apologize for what I must do. I do not wish to be your enemy."

"Explain to me." Again, they were slurred. This time, I couldn't even figure out what it sounded like.

"Now is not the time for this. Rest."

The world spun again. Still, I struggled to remain conscious, fighting weakly as it took my arm and held some magic over it. As he did, I saw him look to a dwarf, as if they were having a silent conversation.

"The Taint is stronger in him than in you, but not as deadly.. There is more power, but the cost is halved. A more powerful Warden…" It looked to me, and I saw its eyes were masked. How did it see? "It would be easy to make an argument that he is no more of an 'elf' than I am. Not when the Taint has changed him so."

I blacked out.

* * *

When I woke up again, I saw I wasn't in that weird room anymore. I was in a cell. Again.

I groaned as I slowly sat up, shaking my head. It was like Fort Drakon again. But I supposed it was better. There wasn't as much red. I appreciated that part, at least.

Slowly, I looked to the sides, stretching my neck. Mistress Layla and Anders were in one corner of the cell, talking quietly. Velanna was in a different one, glowering at what had to be the most offensive dust in Thedas.

I thought about saying something, but decided against it. Instead, I focused on slowly stretching, trying to remember what happened last time I was awake. I thought of the words I heard and flinched. 'More powerful Warden'. 'No more of an elf' than a _darkspawn_ was. I knew what had happened. I accidentally drank that damn potion, awakening the power of my Tainted blood. Whatever it was, it was right. I had more abilities than most Wardens. You really could make an argument that I wasn't 'an elf' anymore. What elf could punch someone's head off? Not even _Sten_ could've done that. An ogre could, though. Maybe…

I shook my head, punching my thigh to use the pain as a focus. It didn't matter. It didn't matter at this moment. I had, _had_ , to escape from here.

Footsteps caught my attention. Someone trying to be stealthy, but failing miserably. Curious, I stood up and headed for the bars of the cell, wondering who approached. It didn't take long for the person to appear. A young elf girl, wearing badly fitting armor. She looked just enough like Velanna that I had a guess who she was.

Velanna's gasp confirmed it, though. "Seranni!" she yelped, running to my side. She gripped the bars with one hand and reached through them with the other. The elf girl took the hand easily and Velanna smiled. "Oh, Creators, you're safe…" The smile faltered slightly as the girl stepped into the light. "What did they do to you?"

"They haven't done anything to me," the girl replied, smiling reassuringly. However, I did have to wonder if she had the Taint. There was _something_ off with her eyes, but I didn't want to sense for it to find out. "It's not _me_ he wants." She shook her head and let go of Velanna, hunting through her pockets. "I'm going to get you guys out of here."

"All right." Velanna sighed and stepped back. "Let us out, and then we'll go home."

"Oh, Velanna…" She sighed and tossed us the key. "That's all I can do for you."

"What are you-?"

"Hold on a moment," I urged, doing my level best to imitate Lord Nuada whenever he wanted to be extra persuasive. Velanna glared, but I ignored her. "Can you tell us more about what's going on? You must know something?"

"No, I don't," she retorted, bluntly. Before I could be disappointed, though, she pointed to a nearby door. "That's his lab. Maybe you'll find something there?" She glanced over her shoulder and bit her lip. "I have to go."

"Seranni!" Velanna called. But Seranni disappeared into the shadows, not even looking back. "Wait!"

"I think she has her own plans," I replied. Velanna's response was to snarl at me. "We have to get out of here." I turned to Mistress Layla and Anders, both strangely quiet as they looked at me. "Lab or no lab?"

"We need to head to the lab," Mistress Layla replied. She stood and stretched, tilting her head curiously. "Is this like Fort Drakon, by the way?"

"Well, it's quieter, and we just had to deal with humans at Drakon." I smiled as Velanna's scowl deepened, and Anders looked confused. "Lord Nuada and I broke out of there during the Blight."

"How in Andraste's knickers did you do that?" Anders yelped. He stood up as well and looked at us like we were insane. "That's a high security prison!"

"You may ask Lord Nuada," I replied lightly. I snatched up the key and opened the cell. "At the moment, I want to get out of here."

"Perhaps we might be able to find our things as well?" Mistress Layla asked. She sighed mournfully. "I know I shouldn't be attached to material things like armor and weapons, but I do _like_ them."

I gave her a confused look before I finally realized that I was dressed in different clothes. All of us were. They were soft, as if freshly laundered, so I hadn't noticed. However, there was no way I was letting _that_ bit of absentmindedness slip.

So, instead, I smiled slightly. "Let's hope so, Mistress Layla," I said, pushing the door open. There was a slight creak, but nothing more. "But you want to go to the lab?"

"Yes," she replied. She glanced at Anders and Velanna, gauging their reactions. Anders smiled; Velanna glared. "I think we can find out more. Maybe even why they pulled the deception." At that, Velanna flinched and dropped her head. "So, shall we?"

"Yes."

Carefully, we all left the cell, and headed into the lab. Though I kept expecting some sort of trap, there was nothing of the sort. There was just cages, gold things, and books. Lots and lots of books. The three mages immediately went to them, opening and whispering over what they found. I focused more on the nearby desk and the notes scattered across it.

Through them, I learned more about the 'deception'. It had been because of a 'Seeker', for unknown reasons, it was the writer who allowed the ruse, all to collect the elves. There was nothing on why it had wanted them. I hunted through the rest of the notes anyway, more confused than ever. Blood was mentioned a lot. Old Gods. Songs. Keeping things from Seranni.

One line in particular, however, stood out among the spidery writing. 'Perhaps I should have killed it while it slept.'

I wondered what the 'it' was. Then I wondered if I really wanted to know. Probably not, but I had a feeling I would find out anyway.

* * *

After hunting through the lab where we found more questions than answers, we pressed forward, doing our best to avoid patrolling darkspawn. We were lucky, most of the time, and the few times we weren't… well, there were three mages. The darkspawn remained eternally unlucky.

However, we eventually came across a room crawling with darkspawn, and there were no other paths to take. Normally, this would be the point where I sighed and jumped into battle, but I had no armor or weapon, so I wanted to avoid that. That was when I noticed something convenient. _So_ convenient that I was willing to believe in divine providence just because of it.

"That ballista is very conveniently aimed," Anders drawled, speaking for all of us. It was aimed right at a precariously balanced statue of Andraste. "Why is there a statue here?"

"This might have been a rest area for the miners," Mistress Layla answered. She glanced around the area curiously. "Doesn't it look a lot like the chapel in the Circle?"

"You'd know more than me. I never spent much time there." He glanced down at the swarming darkspawn. "While I am always up for a bit of iconoclasm, is it going to get all of them?"

"Not in the least," Velanna grumbled. She'd been prickly the entire time, and I was rapidly growing tired of it. "But the trees here are old and strong. I can get the rest with ease."

"That would leave Layla and I with nothing to do, so I'm all for it," Anders joked. He snickered when Velanna glared. "I kid, mostly. We'll look for the path forward."

"Be careful," I told them. They both smiled and walked off, sticking to the shadows. I noticed Mistress Layla was better at it than Anders, and wondered if she'd gotten lessons from one of the rogues. Then I decided it didn't matter, and went to the ballista, checking that it worked. Everything looked fine, at least for a single shot, and it was perfectly aimed already. This really was strange.

"If you're wondering if Seranni set that up, I doubt it," Velanna murmured. She was next to me, already calling to her magic. Clearly, she didn't want us wasting time. "She was never good at anything involving weapons."

"Well, you'd better than a Creator then," I whispered back. I glanced at her. "Ready?"

"Of course."

"You know; I _am_ helping you. You could be a little less snappy."

"...I'm sorry." She looked contrite. "I have never been good with people, not even as a child. I never got the point of games, for instance, and knew even less about how to interact."

"You can start by remembering we're here to help." I didn't even wait for a reply, just braced myself against the ballista. "Firing in three… two… one…"

The ballista bolt flew and hit the statue perfectly. It fell on the darkspawn, and they _screeched_ in fright and confusion. It only increased as Velanna's magic made roots and vines twist and curl, suffocating and skewering the darkspawn.

When I noticed some darkspawn actively trying, and failing, to save their fellows, I found myself feeling very disturbed, and _very_ ill.

"...I thought darkspawn were mindless," Velanna whispered once the screams ended. She looked shaken. "They had…"

"Something is going very weird," I replied. I made myself focus, and filed this information away for later. "Just our luck, of course. First a Blight and a civil war, and now this."

"I suppose the Creators have great faith in your abilities." She sounded so sincere that I bit off my sarcastic retort. She meant it as praise and reassurance. It would be rude to throw that in her face, _especially_ when I had just told her to not be so prickly. "There are the other two." She pointed to where both of them were waving below. "Shall we?"

We met up with them and continued on, navigating the caves. Every once in a while, I noticed bright, shining silver threads in the wall, and wondered if we could use them to help with our army. I made a mental note to tell Lord Nuada about them, and filed it away for later.

In the next open area, we found our things. Four ghouls wore them, looking ready to fight to keep them. However, they were… they were 'just' ghouls. They didn't have our abilities. Layla and I killed ours easily. I punched mine's head off; Layla decapitated hers with a spirit sword. When the bodies fell, we stripped them down and donned our armor and weapons again. I relaxed at the familiar weight, even as I wondered why ghouls were here. I wondered why they had our things.

I might have wondered other things, but Velanna and Anders retrieved their things before I did. We burned the bodies, and left them still burning as we left. They would serve as a good 'shield' against darkspawn coming behind us. Some part of me felt ill at thinking of living beings that way, but the rest of me reminded it that they were enemies and, more importantly, we needed to get out of here to tell the others about that weird darkspawn.

Having our things, though, made us all relax, to the point that we actually talked instead of remaining silent. Most of it was just simple things. 'How are you?' and 'Wow, this mine is huge'. Then Velanna and Anders decided to banter, and Mistress Layla and I had to struggle to not laugh.

"My fireballs are bigger than yours," Velanna told Anders bluntly, without any sort of preamble. She looked rather smug about it. "Much bigger."

"It's not the size that counts, Velanna," Anders replied, with great dignity. His smile, however ruined it.

"Did they tell you that in the Circle?" She clucked her tongue and shook her head. "They were trying to spare your feelings."

"The Circle lied to me?" He gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Andraste's Sword! My world is falling apart!" He grinned and shrugged. "More seriously, though, is that my smaller fireballs do have a purpose. It's much easier to sterilize a needle or cauterize an injury."

"Then it's on purpose?"

"I am a healer first and foremost, Velanna. I'm not very strong offensively anyway; I can't access Entropy skills. My magic is tailored for mending wounds, and so is my training." He smiled wryly. "I'm also an Empath, so the smaller, quicker fireballs make it more likely that I don't get too overwhelmed in the middle of a spell and make it spin out of control."

"...Fine." The words were snippy, but I almost thought I saw grudging respect in her eyes. Almost.

It was still enough to make me smile as we continued on. However, that smile fell as we stepped out into an open area, and found two dragons waiting for us. _Dragons_.

"Why was it so easy to escape from a high security prison when escaping from a vermin infested mine is so damned hard?" I groaned, palming Vigilance and settling into a stance. "Velanna, with me! Anders, follow Mistress Layla's instructions!"

I had wanted to say more, but the dragons decided that it was a good time to try and cook us with fire breaths, so I had to focus far more on not dying. Mistress Layla, thankfully, figured out why I wanted two groups quickly. She and Anders focused on one dragon while Velanna and I focused on the other.

Velanna's spells were focused on two things, I noticed. Fire and earth. She combined them easily, often attempting to skewer the dragon's wings with burning roots. She didn't succeed a lot, but it wasn't from a lack of trying, and she threw fireballs whenever it tried to escape into the air.

As she kept it busy, I focused on darting in close. Several times, I had to jump back because of Velanna's spells, but a quick look at her startled face proved that she was _trying_ to not get in my way. She just had no idea how to fight with someone.

It proved to be all right, in the end. One of her roots managed to catch the dragon in a wing, and pinned it just long enough for me to jump up and slam my greatsword down to smash its skull into pieces.

As the body flopped to the ground, I checked on Velanna briefly before focusing on Mistress Layla and Anders. I debated helping, but they soon proved they didn't need it. Anders froze the wings and Mistress Layla slit its throat as it hit the ground with both her rapier and her spirit sword. The blood from both dragons pooled under our feet, and some part of me wondered if we were helping bring the dragons back to extinction with how many we kept finding and killing.

We stood there among the dragons, trying to catch our breath, before I got the feeling something, or someone, was watching us. I jerked my head up and looked around, trying to figure out who else would be there. Finally, I thought to look up. There, on a platform high above us, was that darkspawn and that warden I recalled from the time I first woke up. With the was Seranni.

Silence reigned as we just… stared at one another. I tried to figure out what the three wanted; I had a feeling the three were trying to determine what to do with us.

Finally, they chose to leave. They walked away in silence, and the darkspawn wrapped magic around itself, to the point of levitating, and sealed the way behind them with stones and rubble. The others breathed in sharply, so I assumed it was an impressive bit of magic. I didn't care, really. All I knew was that the message was clear. This was a very powerful darkspawn, and we would not be able to follow it for now.

"Why is she with that monster?!" Velanna screeched, shattering the silence and making me jump, Anders yelp, and Mistress Layla squeak. She didn't care. She just flailed about, movements jerky and sharp. "We must go get her!"

"How?" I asked softly. She whirled on me, eyes blazing. "In case you didn't notice, the way is blocked." Her eyes flicked up again and she grimaced as reason slowly sunk in through her emotions. "Likely, they disappeared into the Deep Roads."

"The home of the children of stone…" Her eyes widened, and then narrowed with purpose. "They say Wardens can sense darkspawn, even deep underground."

"Yes, but it takes a while for it to kick in. Trust me."

"That doesn't matter." Her eyes glittered with determination, and fury. I seriously worried about her anger issues. "I would become a Warden. Give me the ability to hunt these monsters down!"

"Becoming a Warden isn't something you throw away." I drew myself up to my fullest height. "Even if you leave, you will be dogged by darkspawn. You will die, in battle, broken and alone, and that's if you survive the Joining. Otherwise, you'll die choking and drowning in your own blood." This wasn't something to take lightly. "You will remain in the shadows to protect thankless people _from_ the shadows. We are the Grey Wardens, between light and dark, and it is a duty that cannot be forsworn."

Everything was silent as I waited for Velanna's reply. I absently noticed that Anders looked a little ill, but I left him to Mistress Layla. I kept my attention on Velanna, to impress on her the seriousness of this request.

Finally, though, she whispered, "I pledge my service to you in exchange for the power of your Order." She looked me right in the eye. "I will not run from duty, if you can accept my selfish reason for joining."

"So long as you understand, I gladly accept your offer," I replied. I allowed myself to smile. "Try to get along with the others, please."

"I'll try." Her rueful smile told me that it would be a work in progress. But so long as she tried, I wouldn't yell. Neither would the others.

So, instead, Mistress Layla took her arm and babbled about the people Velanna would have to deal with while Anders led the way out of the mines at last and I trailed after them, to make sure we weren't ambushed.

I could only hope the others weren't having quite as crazy of a time. I somehow doubted that would be the case, though. It was us, after all.

* * *

Author's Note: Thus ends The Righteous Path quest, and now we have Velanna joining up. There are a few sidequests associated with the place in game, but I skipped over mentions of them for convenience. The notes Aiden finds are from in-game codexes. Velanna not being good with people, even as a child, comes from the World of Thedas, volume 2.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Utha


	7. Chapter 7) Last and First

Chapter 7) Last and First

 _Nuada POV_

* * *

 _The elderly mage hurts. It hid it well, but she knew. When one didn't require sleep, one saw far more than they wanted. Like couples moving over each other and moaning frequently. Disgusting, really._

 _But the elderly mage hurt, and it bothered her. It bothered her that she could not do anything for the elderly mage. It bothered her that she could not find their… companions… and ask for assistance. No, all it could do was follow and pretend to not notice._

 _And kill those damnable pigeons. At least that was an annoyance she could still deal with._

* * *

"Looks like this section of the Deep Roads collapsed onto itself," Oghren observed as we made it to the bridge in the Knotwood Hills and carefully descended down the rickety staircase. "Must've built a bit too close to the surface."

"Is this a recent thing or something that's always been none and no one did anything about it?" Nathaniel asked. He was easily the wariest of us on the staircase, and it took me a second to remember he'd told me about a bad fall down some stairs a long, long time ago. "Both seem equally likely, and I can't remember hearing much of this area."

"I can't say I've heard much of anything either, so I'm going to _guess_ the former," I answered. It was really hard to sign for Cleon _and_ travel down these stupid stairs, all the more so because Cleon was behind me. After all, for some stupid reason, I'd ended up taking lead down these things. "Why am I in front again?"

"You're the one who was stupid enough to let himself be volunteered."

"That sounds about right." I sighed. "Regardless, all I remember about the place is that it's inhospitable, filled with gnarled and dying trees, completely infertile, and prone to rockslides and sinkholes."

"Most of which we can tell just by looking around." Nathaniel yelped as the staircase shook under us. "How injured would we get if we just jump?"

"We're almost at the bottom, though if anyone wants to keep a good eye on another way _up_ , that'll be nice." Still, I was very, very glad when I got off the damn staircase and moved away from the slopes. Sinkholes would still be a danger, but at least I wouldn't see those coming! "Maker, I can fully understand why Father threatened to ground me forever if I came here willingly."

"My mother made the same threat." Nathaniel groaned as he stretched, rolling his shoulders. "I'd rather climb the wall than that staircase. I really would."

"I hear you." I turned to Oghren and Cleon, frowning worriedly. "Are you two all right?"

'I am fine," Cleon signed. He frowned as he looked around. 'There is an odd smell in the air, though.'

"That's the smell of the Deep, lad," Oghren instantly answered, before I could even ask what smell they were talking about. "It's distinctive. You never forget it, and you're more reliant on your sense of smell than the rest of us, so I'm sure you _really_ smell it."

'Oh. Lovely.'

Oghren laughed and took point as we wandered through the area, claiming something about 'Stone Sense' to tell where sinkholes might be. However, it didn't take me long at all to realize what he was really doing. He was pulling Nathaniel ahead, and I couldn't help but smile. He really was far more observant than he'd like people to believe.

I slowed my pace to make it a little easier for Oghren to pull off his plan, and he shot me a knowing look before striking up a conversation with Nathaniel in a rather hilariously awkward way. I had no idea how to react to Nathaniel being called 'Howe's little blighter', and the look on Nathaniel's face said he had even less of a clue. But that didn't matter because all I had to do was turn to see Cleon giving me the stare of 'you and I will talk and I will get answers or so help me, Creators…!'.

"Aw, Cleon, I know I'm handsome and all, but do you have to stare so longingly?" I teased, mostly to lighten the tension of the air.

He cracked a small smile before signing, 'I suppose you are, though I am certain Layla appreciates said handsomeness far more than I could.'

"Of course she does. She has an eye for beauty! After all, she is a work of art come to life!"

'I cannot imagine kissing paint as something thrilling.'

"Well, I suppose it might be better than kissing a statue. I _did_ do that once, though in my defense, I was really drunk, and the statue was a better kisser than my previous company that night." I grinned as his smile widened. "All right. I know you have something to ask. I only pray I have an answer."

'Oh, you will.' His smile fell. 'It's the argument.'

"...Ah, I suppose that was a bit unnerving." I sighed, crossing my arms. I glanced down the path to make sure Oghren and Nathaniel weren't killing each other before turning my full attention to him. "The heart of it is simple, perhaps too much so for our group. Alistair and Elspeth want to strengthen protections on elves, but have to move slowly."

'Why?' Cleon's eyes were serious as he signed. 'Should you not shake things up from the start?'

"They are." I bit back another sigh. I remembered _that_ council meeting well, and not just because it had been the first. "But considering how damaged Fereldan is, the shaking up is a little…" I had no idea how to explain this and decided to just jump to the heart of it. "We're asking Orlais for help. We do not have the funds, farmland, and manpower to repair on our own. We're also asking other countries, of course, but that's the one getting the most clamor."

'And their aid is needed?'

"We can't afford to offend them, Cleon, by _not_ asking for their help, when we are also asking other countries for aid. But explaining that to those childish, self-centered…" I bit off my growl, shaking my head and throwing my hands up in the air briefly before bringing them back down to sign. "Basically, it's all politics and I'm reminded on why I planned on _leaving them_."

'Aiden knows this?'

"In his head, he does. Maker knows he's got a good grasp of politics; he _had_ to in order to survive as a servant to a noble house. The problem is that his heart aches, and I cannot blame him for that." I definitely could not, especially since my own ached when I saw the damage to the Alienage, and it was 'simply' a friend's home. "So, that's it, really. It doesn't help that Alistair's hold on the throne is precarious, and that's especially bad in Fereldan, where rulers do not so much as _rule_ as _reign_."

'And the difference is?'

"The difference being that the king is a respected peer, but a peer nonetheless. Alistair has to win their loyalty, and the loyalty of the people, while also trying to repair Fereldan and do all the changes he wants." My head hurt just thinking about all of it. "So, we go slowly. In politics, if you don't play the long game, you're going to lose, and lose badly."

'And that is why you two argued.'

"Yes, and again, I do not blame him for being frustrated. It's difficult to tell someone that they 'just have to endure a little longer', especially when you cannot promise when they can _stop_ enduring." I made a face. "It's easy to see why all the stories stop once the bad guy is defeated with a 'and they all lived happily ever after'. Restoring peace is boring and time consuming frustration."

'Is there…' He hesitated briefly before continuing. 'I am an elf, and I am their hero. Can I do anything to help?'

"Wait, really?" That startled me. I'd thought Cleon would want to stay clear of the politics, especially given how the Wardens were treating all of us. "Give me a bit to think on it. We all do hold some political clout just by being the 'Heroes of the Blight', and you especially do as the 'Slayer of the Archdemon'. But Loghain was also a hero."

'Ah, so the people might not be quite as willing to listen to a hero nowadays.'

"Yes, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way to play things." I grinned. "I'll send a message to Elspeth and Alistair when we get back, and see what we all can do. I thought you would gladly take the excuse to not get involved in the madness."

'I am friends with you. I am used to madness.' His droll look made me laugh. 'Besides, the three of you are tied up in it. I am with you, always.'

"...Thanks, Cleon." It really was reassuring, having someone you trusted at your side. "I appreciate it."

'I am glad, for I am about to go into another topic.' He gave me a _look_ that promised trouble. 'There have been times when Layla has tried to find you, and Anora, for advice.' He waited for me to answer, but even as I brought my hands up to do so, I found them still. 'So? I am assuming it's something that makes sense with your twisted logic.'

"Give me a moment." I wanted to collect all my thoughts. "There are… multiple reasons, and they all play and bounce with one another."

'Oh, this is going to be good.' Cleon glanced around, and took a seat on some nearby rocks. 'This is going to be _real_ good.'

"I shall endeavor to live up to your expectations." I gave him the drollest look I could manage, and he hid a grin behind his hand. "Okay, let's start with Anora." I sighed. "She's here for a few reasons. One is to show support. Technically speaking, Fergus is Layla's liege lord, and Layla graciously gives Warden Commander Aiden use of her lands as more accessible headquarters, especially since the old keep is in dire need of good cleaning."

'And Anora is Fergus's wife, so her being here shows that Fergus supports her.' Cleon nodded. 'Not very complicated.'

"I'm not _done_." I gave him a sulky look, and he hid another grin. "Now, the second reason _is_ to give advice. Anora knows what it's like to be a competent woman surrounded by idiot men who are all very, very certain they know more. However, Anora also believes Layla needs to 'fail' a bit… no, wait, that's the wrong word." I paused, thinking again. "Anora learned through trial and error. She thinks the best way to make Layla take 'ruling' seriously is through that same method. It's not out of malice, but it's one thing to be told something repeatedly..."

'While it's another thing entirely to see it happening.' Cleon reluctantly nodded. 'I can see that, though I do not fully agree with it.'

"Neither do I, but since I don't think any of the nobles around here will be stupid enough to do anything drastic, we do have the time. We might get a little revolt since Layla's off being the heroic Warden instead of the working Arlessa, but…" I shrugged. "I can't fault her for leaving to look into this directly either. It's _us_. Things are always complicated."

'In this way, she can truly see the burden.' He shook his head. 'Again, I understand, but do not fully agree.'

"In retrospect, neither do I, but this is also how _I_ learned, so it's not something I can look at unbiasedly until long after the fact." I made a face. "The third reason, though, is… Cleon, remember who she is."

'Anora is Anora.'

"Well, yes, that's true. But she is also the former queen who the Landsmeet voted against. She is the daughter of a traitor, who was almost named Oathbreaker. She is the daughter of the man who let Howe take over Highever." My signs sharpened slightly, and I worked to relax them. "Cleon, Highever is cold to her. I cannot blame them too much either, but it does make things uncomfortable. Fergus does his best, and Oren adores her, but the people… not so much."

'So, she is here…' Cleon's eyes lit up in understanding. 'Ah, so she is also here as a means of giving time for Highever's temper to calm, and to show she is different from her father.'

"Yes." I nodded. "But all that also means being careful to not take over Layla's power. There is a point where advice becomes puppetting, and the people of Amaranthine and Highever will jump on her at the first sign. So, she also keeps her distance for fear of appearing too controlling. It doesn't help that Anora has a strong personality."

'I see.' Cleon frowned. 'And you?'

"I have… similar reasons." I grimaced. "To be blunt, I do know more about… all of this shit. I lived and breathed politics for all my life. I know budgets. I know how to run a place like Amaranthine and Vigil's Keep. I don't know them _as well_ as Elspeth, but I was always the warrior while she was the diplomat. I do know more than Aiden and Layla, and I want, more than anything, to help them. But too much help…" I shrugged, feeling a bit helpless, funnily enough. "Too much help undermines them. Oghren has warned me already."

'Ah, because then, they simply appear as figureheads, and you do not want that.'

"More importantly, Cleon, is that I cannot afford that. In addition to being Warden Constable and King's Champion, I am the Teyrn of Gwaren, and believe me, I'm up to my eyes in paperwork. I simply _can't_ take all of it. But I'm used to overworking, and I'm used to smiling even though everything hurts."

'And, again, you love Aiden and Layla, so you want to help.' Cleon nodded. 'So, you keep your distance from Layla when she asks for fear of taking over, both for your sake and hers.'

"There's… also my bad habit of denial and running away that I swore I was better at until peace brought all these situations back." I sighed. "That leads to the other reason. Cleon, when it comes to working, I have the most unhealthy habits. All of us Couslands do, and it's because our people expected us to be 'perfect'. Only now, that reputation is hurting us, because Howe loathed us for it, and now people are wondering if we're using that 'perfection' as a justification for taking over Fereldan."

'Taking over?' Cleon looked confused now. 'What do you mean?'

"I mean that, thanks to the Landsmeet's idiocy, the Couslands have control over the only Teyrnirs left in Fereldan, _and_ of the throne, thanks to having a Cousland Queen." I bit back a growl as I remembered a particularly loudmouth noble. "I swear; if it hadn't been the Landsmeet that decided Elspeth would be queen and that I would be the Teyrn of Gwaren, Fereldan might be in the middle of another civil war."

'But they gave it to you!' Cleon's signs were sharp, and there was a fierce protectiveness in his eyes that soothed my battered spirit. 'Neither of you even suggested you wanted either position. Fen'harel's teeth…'

"Yeah, but you'll find that politics have conveniently short or long memories depending on what suits them." I sighed again. "All of that adds up to me not having much in the way of patience, so when Aiden brought it up…"

'You lashed, because the other option was to run.' Cleon nodded, still tense enough to shake. 'I am going to help. However I can. I should've been doing that sooner.'

"Cleon, you've spent a great deal of these past six months recovering." That, however, reminded me of something. "Cleon, about Morrigan-"

'Don't.' His signs were sharp again, but this time, it was from anger and pain. 'Please.'

"Okay." I looked him right in the eye. "But only if you promise to not sit on it. We don't need another me."

'All right.' Cleon nodded slowly. 'But it might be a while.'

"That's fine, and I won't speak a word of it to the others unless it looks like it's affecting your work."

'Ma serranas.'

"Nuada! Cleon!" Oghren's call made me whirl, Cleon jumping down from his perch a split-second later. "Come here!" Oghren continued, waving. "Got some blighters!"

"Back to work, then," I noted lightly. I signed both Oghren's words and mine for Cleon, and he nodded, sighing heavily. "Yeah, it's so rude of them to come in while we were having an intelligent conversation."

'Intelligent?' Cleon signed, giving me a droll look. 'What intelligence?'

"Alack, alay! Oh, woe is me!"

'Get a move on, dramatic.' Cleon moved ahead, hiding a smile, and I smiled as I followed him over to where Oghren and Nathaniel were. I expected to just jump into the fight, only to realize why Oghren and Nathaniel hadn't done that very thing.

The darkspawn were fighting a dwarf, one of the Legion if I had to make a guess. I watched as they tried to drag her off, only for her to twist, kick their legs out from under them, and use their own maces to splatter their skulls. "I don't think they need our help," I deadpanned as they fought off the rest easily. "Why don't we let them go about their merry bloody way?"

No one replied as the dwarf finished off the last of them and turned, rolling their shoulders. They started when they saw us, but recovered quickly. "Well, that was close," they noted with a smile. They walked over, subtly stretching. "Hello, there. Don't mind me. I was just about to _really_ join the Legion of the Dead."

'I think they hit their head,' Cleon instantly signed, expression droll. I watched their eyes follow the signs and frown. 'Oh, they are smart, though. I used more of the Orzammar signs Oghren taught us for that sentence.'

"I think I caught the word smart in there," they called, confirming Cleon's words. "Not sure of the rest of the signs, though. What sort of sign language is that?"

"It's honestly a mixture of many different ones," I explained, grinning. I liked the cheerful-in-the-face-of-death sort. "There's some Kinloch Hold, Templar, Antivan, Val Royeaux, Orzammar-"

"Soldier Caste Orzammar." They shook their head. "Different castes have their own sign language."

"I stand corrected." I bowed slightly, and they laughed. "But, truly, are you all right?"

"Well, I might've cracked a rib, but it's hard to be certain. Everything hurts."

"We _would_ be without a healer." I sighed, shaking my head. "Well, I think we have some medicines."

"I'll be fine once I catch my breath, but thank you." They shrugged. "I can't stay to chat for long. I need to head back, as foolish as it sounds. See what I can do."

"Back… where?"

"The old fortress of Kal'Hirol." They snorted as Oghren gaped. "Yeah, that one. The one everyone just decided to ignore. There's something big going on there. The darkspawn are breeding an army. So, Kardol gave us our marching orders, so to speak. But it proved too much. I'm… all that's left of the squadron. It was a massacre."

"Damn…" Oghren whispered. His whistled softly, shaking his head. "I'll be a nug's uncle. Darkspawn destroying an entire squadron sent by Kardol himself? That's not good."

"Yeah, you'd know," they sighed. "They're smart now. I saw them taking the women, and I wasn't sticking around for that. So, I ran. Like a coward. A dead coward, isn't that hilarious?"

"You did give us a warning," I pointed out. All I could think was how coincidental some things went. "Oh, I don't suppose we've introduced ourselves, have we? I'm Nuada, the Warden-Constable for Fereldan, over here we have Cleon, the Slayer of the Archdemon. We also have Oghren, who you're familiar with, and Nathaniel, our new blood who we need to break in." I grinned as Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "You are?"

"Sigrun, a Legion Scout." They looked a little dazed. "The ancestors really must've had a hand in this. I… guess it makes me feel a little better. Maybe." They shrugged, recovering quickly again. "I can show you the way. Safety in numbers." They suddenly grinned. "Besides, with your help, things are no longer impossible! Merely improbable."

"Ah, yes, that's our specialty. We make the impossible improbable, and then pull it off anyway." This was going to be such a great day. "Lead on, Sigrun."

* * *

"I don't know much about Kal'hirol, except what the others told me," Sigrun explained as we stepped out of the caves of the Deep Roads and into the surprisingly open area that surrounded the old thaig. "It used to be important, a center of learning for the smith caste."

"Branka loved complaining about it not being around," Oghren whispered. His eyes were sad as he looked out. "I can still hear it. Lots of knowledge was lost here, when it fell, and no one ever made a second one."

"Still, it does look magnificent," Nathaniel breathed. We all clustered at the edge of cliff, looking over everything. "I've never seen anything like it."

'If we have to fight golems, I am going to scream,' Cleon signed. He was the only one not impressed by everything. 'Can we get going? Now?'

"I'm guessing by his exasperated look that Cleon is not impressed?"

'No, I saw the Anvil of the Void and bunches of suicides. I want to get out of here.'

"What is he saying?" Nathaniel looked to me. "I picked up 'anvil' and 'void'."

"Well, last time Cleon was in the Deep Roads, he got to recover the knowledge of how the dwarven golems were made," I explained, keeping my voice light. "It wasn't pretty and was lost for a reason." I smiled at the others. "But we can stay to admire the view… or get to destroying that potential army. I like the latter."

The others murmured in agreement, and walked on. I lingered back with Cleon, giving him a worried look.

He smiled wryly at my silent question. 'I am fine,' he signed. 'My last trip was not very fun, and I am simply remembering. It is nothing worse than my own nightmares.'

"Then why did you come here?" I asked. "The whole point had been to investigate the Roads."

'One, I don't want Layla anywhere near a damned Broodmother. Two…' He paused and sighed. 'Two, the Wending Woods is a known traveling place for a few Dalish Clans. If it was a conflict between merchants and Dalish, I do not trust myself.'

"Did you warn them?" I snickered as his expression blanked. "Oh, they're going to let you have it if that's the case."

'I meant to! I swear it!' His eyes were panicked. 'Oh, Mythal, protect me from their righteous wraths!'

"This is going to be _hilarious_." I might've teased him more, but a startled cry made me panic and I was racing down the hill. Cleon was a split-second behind me, and stayed behind me even though I knew he was much faster. He didn't know what had made me react, after all, and I wanted to _get there_ before I even tried to sign out what was going on.

We caught up with the others easily, and it was there I saw what was going on. Sigrun had yelped because she'd found a bleeding dwarf, one she apparently knew. She looked up from him as Cleon and I approached. "His name is Jukka," she told me. "He's hurt. Bad."

"Yeah, gut wounds are typically bad," I whispered, kneeling beside them, knowing Oghren would fill Cleon in. I grimaced when I saw how much blood there was. "Damn… I don't think even healing magic could patch him up. Anyone have whiskey or something to help him with the pain?"

"Nah, I can't stand alcohol," the dwarf, Jukka, laughed. It instantly turned to wheezing. "Thank you for the thought, though."

"Well, Oghren can drink your share." I made myself smile as he wheezed another laugh. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"Sounds… like a plan."

"Jukka, stop joking around," Sigrun scolded. She hunted through her packs for bandages, grimacing when she came up empty. "Just… just stay still, don't talk, and…"

"No, Sigrun, it's fine," Jukka reassured. "I feel death on me, and it is… a sweet release." He managed a smile, and I wished his teeth were bloody or something. It was just unnerving to see him gasping from a gut wound. It reminded me of the last time I saw Father. "But you must listen… there are broodmothers." He focused solely on Sigrun, even as his eyes clouded over. "Breeding… you must stop them." He gripped her arm with a bloody hand. "But beware… the children… abominations… even among darkspaw...nnnn..."

He died then, still holding onto Sigrun. She stared, not quite registering, even as Nathaniel knelt down and carefully removed his hand from her arm.

"Damn," I cursed, unable to think of anything else to say. Cleon's mouth moved without sound and I wondered if he was mouthing a Dalish prayer. I thought about the same, but then decided that the Maker wouldn't care. "So, does anyone know what 'the Children' are?" No one answered. "Oh, this is going to be absolutely lovely." I stood up slowly, and looked to Sigrun. "What do you want to do with the body?"

"If…" Sigrun began. She hesitated before shaking her head. "No, we can… bury him when we're out of Kal'Hirol. Right now, we need to get a move on."

"Are you sure?" I studied her face as she nodded before nodding too. "All right. Everyone eyes and ears open."

Slowly, we left Jukka's body behind and made our way through the ruined thaig. I couldn't help but notice how pretty things were, death and gloom aside. It was all too easy to see just how this had once been a thriving city, and some part of me was saddened by this loss. Many, many thaigs were lost, and the surface had done nothing to help the dwarves while they fought for their lives.

But that complicated mess of sadness and guilt disappeared as we approached the main gates of Kal'Hirol and I realized something: we hadn't encountered anything. There had been no darkspawn or creatures of the deep. We had just wandered, looking around as Sigrun led us to the old fortress.

That's where it became really obvious where they had all gone. The 'courtyard' was covered in bodies and body parts. There were some creatures like deep stalkers, there were a couple of dwarves, but most were darkspawn. Most of those darkspawn looked as if they had been eaten, and I wondered what sort of creature fed on them.

I got my answer not two seconds later as three… _things_ crawled out of the shadows. Its face was a horrible mottled red and grey, the same eerie color of a freshly healed burn scar. Its face was uneven, with badly misaligned eyes. In fact, it looked as if one side had one beady red eye while the other had two.

That was all just the head. It was attached to a body that looked like an oversize pill bug, but moved like a maggot, wriggling and writhing as it slowly ate through a darkspawn's guts. The 'connecting' part of the body and head, what I'd call the 'neck' on anything else, was a mess of red pieces of flesh, like a stretched out muscle. It looked like a child had just… taken two ripped apart things and stitched them together haphazardly.

It took me a second to realize they pulsed with the Taint and I realized something horrifying. These were darkspawn. These were a type of darkspawn that had not shown during the Blight. For all we knew, these were _completely_ new. These… were the Children Jukka mentioned. I was certain of it.

I was also certain that a giant maggot creature shouldn't be able to spit venom and knock me to the ground, but that also happened.

I bellowed a war cry as I hit the ground, close enough to its face to make it flinch. Then I twisted and tapped into the power of a Reaver to boost my strength even as my back spasmed from pain. I drove my sword through its back and ripped it out, almost splitting the thing in two. It writhed over to a nearby darkspawn, though, and began to gorge itself, and I could only gape as I _watched_ its skin knit back together. So, I bashed it with my shield, sending it into the wall, and chased it down, striking as many times as I could. It curled into itself, presenting its armored back, and lunged when I paused, biting into my neck. I jerked away, and growled as it knit together again.

Then an arrow slammed into its eye, making it screech. I took the opportunity to bring my sword down with all the strength I had, shattering the skull and turning the rest of it into a bloody, oozing mess.

I waited for a long moment, certain it would reanimate, but it remained still with death. I moved to cut of its head for good measure, and only then, did I turn to smile at Nathaniel. He was standing not far away, bleeding from his legs, arm, and chest. "Thanks for the save," I told him. "It was quite dramatic."

"I tried shouting to tell you to get out of the way, but that's when it got you," he explained. He flexed his hands and then his arm, and I winced at the blood oozing. "One got me good. Cleon saved me, and I switched to covering. Yours was the last one."

"Of course it was." I looked at the corpses of those things and then turned to look at Cleon, Oghren, and Sigrun. Their eyes were as wide as mine. "So, what the _fuck_ are these things and why are they here?"

There was no answer, and I had a bad feeling that this was far more complicated that we had even _begun_ to imagine.

* * *

Author's Notes: So, political talking again, more or less Nuada's view of the political situation Fereldan is in. Reconstructing takes a lot of time and effort. Also, the Children, who legit freaked me out the first time I saw them. (The chapter refers to the quest name, Last of the Legion, and how this is the first time the Children are seen in this story.)

Next Chapter - Kal'Hirol proper with Cleon


	8. Chapter 8) The Lost

Chapter 8) The Lost

 _Cleon POV_

* * *

 _She feels guilty. She wishes she were with the others, but she cannot be. She is here with Dorothea, listening to a most… unusual proposition._

 _Dorothea is next in line to become the Divine, and what she wants is reforms. Change. Things to become better for everyone, not just non-magical humans. The very idea thrills her. But such things would make her enemies. In Orlais, that means Bards._

 _Dorothea remembered her, remembered her skills. Dorothea wants her to become a Bard again, but this time just for her. A 'Left Hand' to the official 'Right Hand', the Hero of Orlais, Cassandra Pentaghast._

 _She hesitates. Accepting would mean she is less likely to be able to help her friends, see her friends. Accepting would mean she would be back in the life she both enjoys and loathes. But accepting would also let her do so much good, just as her friends do._

" _I… think that sounds like fun," she finally replies. Dorothea gives her a grateful, and warm, smile. "Shall we discuss a bit more?"_

* * *

After an hour of poking and making notes over _whatever_ those weird maggot things were, and another hour of making sure we weren't going to bleed out, we headed inside Kal'Hirol. The inside reminded me of the Dead Trenches, especially the area where we saw Hespith. The very sight made my stomach roll. Nuada also paled at the sight of the fleshy growths, and only signed 'Tower' when I asked, with a look that screamed he didn't want to talk about it, especially right then.

Thankfully, however, Oghren was around, and Oghren was good at reading our moods, _and_ Oghren had no qualms making snarky comments. 'This place looks like Felsi's First Day stew,' he signed, shaking his head. The words made me smile slightly, not quite a laugh, but certainly soothing. ''The girl has her strengths, but cooking isn't one of them.' That had to be the first time he actually mentioned his wife. I was tempted to ask more, but decided against it. 'What's wrong, Nathaniel? Scuffed your pretty boots?'

'Oh, please,' Nathaniel scoffed. Nuada signed for him, and Sigrun watched the signs closely, following along. 'I've spent my time in taverns. This isn't the worst that's been splashed on them.' He shook his head. 'No, it's just that I think the wall just slimed me.' Nathaniel gave all of us dirty looks. 'What was this all about the glory of Wardens?'

'That's how Wardens sucker people into volunteering.'

'I volunteered knowing full well what was going on,' Nuada loftily declared, even as he led the way down some stairs. His signs were light and cheerful. 'Of course, I'm completely insane.'

'I figured that out before you said that,' Sigrun deadpanned. I could tell by her droll look. 'I mean; You guys volunteered to help _me_.'

Nuada might've replied, but we all paused as we realized there were transparent people on the staircase. I rolled my eyes and sighed when I realized I was looking at ghosts, again. They were unimpressive the first time, and they were doubly unimpressive now. At least, that's what I thought.

Sigrun, however, had very wide eyes as she stared. 'What is this?' she said. Oghren signed her words. 'This is…?'

'Is it unusual?' I asked. Nuada translated for me. ''We saw something similar in the Ortan Thaig, right before the giant spider tried to eat us. Oghren didn't react back then.'

'Really? I've never seen anything like this before.' Sigrun's eyes were wide, and a little reverent. 'They say memories in the Stone are preserved forever, though. Is this what they meant?'

'Could be. The Veil is thin, here. It's thin wherever there's a lot of death. It could be an echo.'

'So, magic, divinity, or… something else?' She forced a smile. 'My day just keeps getting better and better!' She shook her head. 'Onward into more weirdness!' She led the way down the stairs and we ended up in the ruins of a city. It reminded me of Dust Town in Orzammar, and I wondered if this had been its equivalent, back when Kal'Hirol thrived.

We wandered around, coughing from the dust, trying to ignore the stale smell of rot that permeated everything. At some point, we came across a platform where more ghosts were. The others continued on, but Nuada lingered, listening closely based on how his eyes had narrowed slightly and how he'd crossed his arms.

When the ghosts flickered away, I nudged his side to catch his attention and signed, 'Anything important?'

'Depends on your definition,' he signed back. He looked at the platform again. 'Seems like someone managed to rally the casteless to fight for Kal'Hirol, buying time for others to evacuate.'

'Why didn't the casteless evacuate?'

'I doubt anyone bothered to help them. The casteless are nothing to proper dwarves.'

'So, like the elves?'

'I think it is a bit worse, but that's me being a human, looking at everything from a different, lofty perspective.' Nuada looked right at me. 'But I do know that some people think negative attention is better than none at all.'

'Mmm, I can see that. Still, there are many times I wish the humans would just ignore the Dalish. It would mean quieter hunts, and less fires.'

'That is a good point.' Nuada's smile was bitter. 'I hope, one day, we can find a way to fix things.'

'I do as well.' But I knew why his smile was bitter. Only a child thought they could save _everyone_ , and we were not children. We were young, and we worked miracles, but changing people's views would require some very radical change. Perhaps even violent, and I was not sure if I was ready for _another_ war. 'We need to catch up.'

'So we do.' Nuada shrugged, unbothered. 'Well, let's see what horrors await.'

'Don't say that. Fen'harel might take it as a challenge.'

'You know; I don't know much about this Fen'harel you keep swearing at and by.'

'Really?' I was surprised I hadn't told them. 'Well, Fen'harel is…'

* * *

I ended up chatting a lot about the Elven Pantheon. Though it was partly because Nuada was an avid listener and eager to learn, I knew another part was because I was desperate for that sort of conversation. As much as I loved my friends, they were not Dalish. They could not talk of the old stories, of the forests. It was a bit lonely, sometimes. I missed the days I would just sprawl out in the grass and listen to Merrill babble about stories while the stars glittered overhead. I missed the days when Tamlen and I would joke and tease as we cleaned a recent kill. I missed the days when Lyna and I would curl up at Ashalle's feet, and listen to her gossip from the day as she wove.

I missed the Sabrae clan. I missed that home. But I also knew that I could never fully be 'home' there again. I had changed too much. I knew I was far more at 'home' with my friends here. But I couldn't help but miss it.

Just as I couldn't help but stare as we entered the 'Trade Quarter' of Kal'Hirol and came across darkspawn fighting each other. But there was no randomness to the fighting. They were organized. They were clearly two separate factions. It was a civil war. The _darkspawn_ were having a _civil war_.

They were completely focused on each other, and so we slid along the edges of the battle, not wanting to deal with any of it. We moved into an out of the way section to wait out the battle, only to find a moldy mess of bones and armor, and the ghost of a dwarf being killed by the ghost of an ogre. When the ghosts faded away, we discovered an old tablet. All of us hesitated slightly, glancing at each other. We wanted to read, but...

'It's an old dialect, but I think I know enough to guess,' Oghren muttered. He knelt down and studying the writing closely. 'May the Stone remember the defenders of Kal'Hirol, born casteless but died warriors.'

'He… wanted them to be remembered as warriors,' Sigrun whispered. She looked incredibly touched, though not quite to the point of tears. 'Warrior Caste. Here are all their names.' There were two hundred names, and even with time wearing away the edges, they were legible, and you could see the respect in how even they were, how precise the writing was. 'We have to find some way… their names were lost, and they lost their lives, but now we can...'

'Think we got some paper.' Oghren glanced up, and Nathaniel pulled out a bunch from his pack. 'Let's make a copy then.' He smiled bitterly. 'Just like the golem registry.'

'I heard about that. Shortly before coming here, actually.'

'I suppose that's something we do,' I signed. I exchanged a look with Nuada, who smiled slightly. 'Give names to the lost.' Among other things.

We waited as Oghren made two copies, just in case, and then sent Nathaniel and Sigrun to scout the area. When they returned, we moved deeper within the thaig, wondering just what we would find. However, as we passed through an old smithing area, I noticed Oghren lingering back. The others noticed as well, but I waved them on, and stayed back with him.

'This anvil…' he eventually signed, moving over to one half hidden in the shadows. 'Must be pretty old.' He ran his fingers over the top, making pictures in the dust, before bringing his hands up again to sign. 'They make them differently these days. Branka once told me about it, but I'll be a nug's uncle if I remembered what it was. Probably something with efficiency. Crazy harpy.'

I watched him for a moment, noting the sadness weighing his shoulders. 'Are you all right?'

'Yeah.' He stepped back from the anvil, shaking his head. 'The damn thing just reminded me of her.'

'Oghren…'

'Cleon, I know she's gone. I know it. And damn if most days, I think it's better for her.' He looked up to the ceiling, eyes narrowed slightly. 'But some days, I… oh, sod it.'

'Ir abelas.' My hand shook. I still remembered. I remembered reaching for her, _having_ her. I remembered her pulling back her hand and smiling, so warmly and brightly. I remembered the heavy 'splash' of her body hitting… whatever had been down there. The moment haunted my nightmares, just as Tamlen's death did. Just as the battles did.

'Not your fault.' His eyes told me who he blamed: himself. I wondered if this played a part in why he was here. 'Bah, look at me, whimpering like a box of wet kittens.' He rolled his shoulders, and grinned. 'Let's make some paste out of the darkspawn!' His grin faltered, though, and he turned towards something. 'That… was not a good sound.'

'Oh?' I, of course, couldn't hear anything, but I noticed the ground vibrating under us, and noticed some chips of stone trembling on the anvil. 'That… doesn't look good.'

Both of us shared and look and _bolted_ down the path, hunting for our friends. I made sure to stay behind Oghren, relying on his ears to find everyone as we navigated the twists and turns of the thaig. We tripped over darkspawn corpses, and I nearly fell into a panic when I thought I saw Sigrun's body. Thankfully, it just turned out to be a different dwarf, wearing similar armor, who was half eaten. But as we ran, and saw all the signs of battle, all I could think was… was that I hadn't heard. I used to have such keen hearing; once, I _would_ have heard the sounds of fighting, and been able to come to their aid. I _would_ have known. But now, I didn't. I couldn't hear, and I didn't know, and wouldn't have known if Oghren hadn't heard something that made me pay attention to the vibrations.

Dread and fear pooled in my stomach as we slipped in some blood, racing down a long corridor. Dead maggot darkspawn lined the sides, showing that they'd been ambushed. And I hadn't known. They'd been fighting, and I hadn't known.

We burst into an open area, and I nearly had a heart attack when I saw some sort of darkspawn mage launching multiple fireballs at Nathaniel and Sigrun. I burst forward, and tackled the darkspawn before it could loose one more spell. It opened its mouth in a scream, and I nearly gagged at its rotting breath. But then I twisted, and used a trick Zevran taught me to slide my daggers into its neck and slice off its head. In anger, I kicked the body to the side, and blinked slowly when I realized I kicked it straight into a golem. A flaming golem. As if a normal one wasn't bad enough.

Nuada and Oghren were fighting it and, while Nuada seemed badly burned, his Reaver tricks meant he was stronger for it. So, instead, I knelt down by Nathaniel and Sigrun, pulling out bandages and poultices as I noted they were _badly_ burned. Blistering, deep red areas, but thankfully no blackened parts. My hands shook as I tried to tend to them, and once again, I was flooded with guilt and terror. If Oghren hadn't heard, I wouldn't have known. They could've burned to death, and I wouldn't have…

A hand took my wrist and it took me a moment to realize it was Nathaniel. Slowly, he signed, and it took me a moment to realize what he was trying to say. 'We are okay.' He gave up after that one sentence and raided my pack for pen and paper, jotting down the rest of his message. ' _Sigrun and I managed to blind the golem, so Nuada went after it. That darkspawn was down, and Sigrun and I were going to confirm the kill when it struck. We're okay.'_ He smiled and tapped that last sentence for emphasis.

I simply smiled and nodded. I had little doubts things had been in control. I had little doubts that they could've figured out a way out of the trouble, now that I was thinking. I just couldn't get over the fact that I had been blissfully unaware that they had been in trouble. It was different than learning what happened to the other group. I had _been_ here, and yet…

I knew this would join my nightmares. The idea of what _could_ have happened, while I was so near yet so far, would likely haunt me for a long, long while.

The ground trembled underneath us, and I turned to see Nuada and Oghren had taken down the golem and were running over. I knew Nuada was babbling out apologies, at least until Nathaniel bopped him on the head with his _surprisingly_ intact bow. Then Oghren shooed both Nuada and I away, signs mentioning something about double checking the kills. I knew Oghren was more making sure Nuada and I didn't drown Nathaniel and Sigrun with apologies.

So, Nuada and I confirmed the kills, popping off the golem's head for good measure, and scouted a bit ahead, _making sure_ there would be no ambushes.

'What happened?' I finally signed. I didn't want to know, and yet I do. 'I saw the battles.'

'We got attacked by those maggot things,' Nuada signed. His signs were crisp, even as his eyes darkened. I knew he'd also have nightmares of this. 'Not sure if they meant to or not, but they funneled us straight into those stupid things.'

'We get anything useful from the fight? Besides, don't be cocky, I mean.' My arrogance, Nuada's arrogance… it could've gotten Nathaniel and Sigrun killed.

'There is an Architect and a Mother, and they're apparently fighting.' Nuada shrugged. 'Also, we killed 'The Lost'.'

'They have _names_?'

'Seems so.' Nuada turned at something, and smiled. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief when I realized Oghren, Nathaniel, and Sigrun were joining us. 'All okay?'

'We're fine, as we have said twenty times,' Nathaniel replied. Oghren signed for him. 'Honestly, you two are worse than mother hens.'

'Just wait until Layla sees those injuries,' Nuada teased. I playfully shuddered as I thought of her reaction. 'Well, the way seems clear. Sigrun? You want to lead from here?'

'Sure, sounds good to me,' Sigrun replied with a little shrug. She stepped in front with her head held high. 'Time to see what's at the end of long corridor number two!'

Despite her cheer, we moved forward slowly, weapons at the ready. I paid close attention to movements in the shadows, twitching at each little thing I could see. Most of the time, it was just bits of rubble dribbling down from the ceiling. I knew the others jumped at every little sound, based on how they tensed and twisted at random points.

However, nothing caught us in the corridor, and nothing greeted us when we stepped out into a huge room. I was confused for a moment before realizing we were on a 'second floor' and that there was a pit in the center of the room. I crept over to the railing and was nearly sick when I saw what was there. Broodmothers, bunches of them. I wondered how many were actually members of Sigrun's group.

'So, that is a Broodmother.' The signs caught my eye, and it took me a second to realize that Nuada was next to me. It took me even longer to remember that he had never seen one before. 'Well, I now understand why Uncle Duncan always told Elspeth to run or kill herself if darkspawn caught her,' he continued, signs light to convey a false cheerfulness. 'We have to kill them.'

'Yes,' I agreed. I started looking for some way down. 'It will be a rough battle, especially with so many, but-'

Nuada waved to catch my attention. 'Lyrium well hanging conveniently above them.' Nuada pointed up for emphasis, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw he was right. 'What say we just drop it on them?'

'Nuada, I love you.'

It took the four of us a bit to figure out how to simultaneously release all the chains, make sure the container dropped straight down, _and_ make sure that we were clear away from the area, just in case. Nathaniel and Sigrun spiritedly debated some sort of calculations, actually. But we figured it out, and it wasn't long before the Broodmothers were all dead thanks to exploding blue light. We even looked down afterwards to make sure, and all that was down there was a strange mix of blue and red, with some little bits of goop floating in the puddles.

'And that is that,' Sigrun commented, Nuada translating for her. 'We did it…' She suddenly fell on her butt, likely overwhelmed by what we accomplished. The rest of us leaned against the wall or rested our hands on our knees, trying to catch our breath as it all caught up with us at last. It had been a _very_ long day. 'I… thank you.' She smiled at us. 'Seriously. If the rest were alive, I know they would honor you in some way.'

'Well, this _is_ kind of our job,' I pointed out. One of the others translated for me; I didn't know who. 'So, now that we're not about to die, how are you?'

'Not sure.' Her smile turned a little sad. 'I often wished I could get away from the others. I only really liked a couple of them. But now that they're gone, I just wish I had them back. I wish Freya would throw beetles in my hair, or Baldur would sing bad poetry.' She shook her head. 'Silly, isn't it? I should be more concerned with how we're caught between two factions of darkspawn. Never heard of that before.'

'Neither have I,' Oghren added. He didn't look bothered, though. 'Then again, I'm used to being startled, thanks to these two and their habit of blazing new ground.' He gestured at Nuada and I, just to make sure the rest knew which two. Both of us rolled our eyes in return. 'Bleeding nug humpers, these darkspawn. You hear of fighting all the time, but nothing organized like this.'

'Just our luck, right?' Nathaniel joked. He managed a bit of a grin, before grimacing. 'Anyway, I think I found a side door out of here, so if we want to take it…'

'Probably should. I don't fancy hiking all the way back through. But when did you find it?'

'While I was waiting for you to reach the chains, of course.'

Oghren and Nathaniel fell into some lighthearted bickering, and Sigrun pushed herself to her feet, looking for all the world prepared to just leave. Nuada and I glanced at each other and nodded, silently on the same page. We had to at least ask.

'Sigrun,' he began, taking lead. He was, after all, the Warden-Constable. 'What do you say to joining us?'

'Go, with you?' she asked, both startled and skeptical. She crossed her arms, frowning. 'That would… go against my vow as a member of the Legion of the Dead.'

'I don't see how. You'll still fight the darkspawn, and you'll still die under a rock in the Deep Roads, likely. Wardens die in the Roads just like the Legion.'

'That… is true.' Her eyes lit up. 'I would be so much more effective!'

'Yep. Though, I will state that you're not allowed to die until the current conflict is resolved. We are tragically low on numbers.'

'I think I can agree to that.' She actually grinned. 'Well, all right. Hard to say no to something like that.' Her cheer still seemed a bit forced, and I wondered if she was coming with us because she didn't want to be alone, nor did she really want to return to the Legion's fort without everyone. 'Shall we depart, then?'

'Glad to have you, Sigrun.' Nuada offered his hand, and she took it for a firm shake. 'Glad to have you.'

* * *

Author's Notes: And companion get! Sigrun is your extra Rogue. It's mentioned in a codex entry (Dailan's Journal, I think?) that 200 casteless stayed behind to fight, and die, for Kal'Hirol. There's technically a treasure hunter prisoner here too, but I removed him for pacing purposes.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Mother


	9. Interlude - Mother

Interlude - Mother

* * *

The song is gone. The song, the song, the beautiful song… it is all gone, thanks to the Father, and now she twists and writhes, fully aware again. Memories of a girl who is both her and not her bombard her skull. A flower field. Gossiping gaggles of girls. Flirtatious men with soft smiles and softer hands. A ceremony. A night filled with passion. Little children. Then battle. Then darkness. Then bony, splintering hands gorging her, filling her as she bloated and twisted. Then the song. The blissful song that took everything away, except it's _gone_. It's gone, it's gone, and it's _all his fault_!

Just as it is his fault that Kal'Hirol is lost. That the Lost is lost. Lost, lost, lost, lost, lost…!

"Mother, be calm…" someone urges. A darkspawn, one of hers. She doesn't know his name, doesn't care.

"Calm…" she hisses instead. "Yes, once, I was calm…" Once, she did not care about anything. But now she did, and she was trapped in this hated body, a twisted amalgamation of the things done to her, with all the memories rattling in her skull. "Once, Mother listened to the beautiful call." 'Mother'. That's all she could remember being called, in her old life. 'Mama, Mother'. Shrieking screams as she was dragged away…. "Felt it wash over her and inside her... " She shuddered reaching out blindly as if she could catch it. "Then she was calm…" Her hands fell on nothing, just as always. "But now that calm is gone… the Father took it away…" Her voice turns to a growl. "Just as he took away Kal'Hirol!" She gasps and shudders. "My poor pets… the Father knew I'd send them…" She starts to laugh. "Yes, he knew… the Father feared them…!" Her cackles echo through the cavern she is forced to make her home. "Ka'Hirol is gone, but the Mother still has her tricks. Many, many tricks!"

"But what shall we do?" The darkspawn looks lost. Not as much as the Lost did, of course, but enough to make her smile. "What shall the Mother do?"

"Do! I will _laugh_!" Her laughter echoes more and more, grating on her ears like the sound of shattering glass. Once, her laugh had been charming, bell like, but her screams tore her throat and too many bony, splintered hands had choked her to make her submit. "And then… I will _wait_." Waiting is all she can do.

Waiting for the Father to come, and then she can end them both.

* * *

Author's notes: Ah, this cutscene. When this one showed, I knew immediately that things would be… interesting. Very interesting.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Utha (I totally meant to do this here and didn't just forget about it, yep, yep)


	10. Interlude - Utha

Interlude - Utha

* * *

She likes them, the new Wardens. The Elven Commander and the Mage Arlessa. She wishes she had time to communicate with them. But finding paper and pen in the mines would've been difficult, and she doubts they knew the signs of a Silent Sister. She doubts Duncan ever had time to teach them.

Her heart keens as she remembers her old friend. Dead and left to rot among the darkspawn… it was an end he likely expected, given that he was a Warden, but he deserved a better death, in her eyes. She had hoped she could have talked to him, when he came down for his Calling, help him understand. Show him, in fact, what she and the Architect had done.

"Unfortunate." The Architect's voice draws her from her thoughts, and she turns to focus on it. They communicate well, for it is able to read her thoughts. It's useful, for when she is so angry that she cannot even sign. "It is lost to us now, the mines," it continues with a little sigh. "No point in trying to return."

She gives it a little glare, focusing on her annoyance. They had, after all, sunk a lot of time there.

"I know. Your former comrades are most impressive, Utha." It shakes its head. "It will be difficult to convince them."

Now, she focuses on her annoyance of its admission. 'Difficult', it thought? 'Difficult' was waiting for over twenty years for a promise, and no signs of an end yet.

"No, Utha. Do not fret. I _will_ keep my promise to you." Its words are sincere, and she is reminded as to why she picked it in the first place. It made mistakes, but it always tried and never gave up. It wanted to end the Blights, just as she did. That, she knew, she could trust. "All is not lost yet." It turns to her and pats her shoulder reassuring, a gesture it had picked up from her. "But we might want to prepare for battle."

She looks up at it, studies its face, and nods slowly. Yes, she could see the wisdom in that. The Mother's forces were growing stronger, _and_ these new Wardens were strong and skilled.

She hopes that they can at least see the reason in the two of them. She hopes that they will at least listen to them. It is crazy, but there is reason, and they have had _some_ progress. Not enough, for her, but there is some.

She closes her eyes, and prays to the Ancestors… and then she prays to Duncan, in the hopes that maybe he could give them some sign from beyond. It's all she can do, now. Hope and pray that she did not make the wrong choice, that day long ago.

* * *

Author's note: Utha is actually a character that shows up in _The Calling_ , where you see her first meeting with the Architect, and also some insight into her backstory. She was actually a comrade to both Duncan and Fiona, and knew Marric. But something that's made pretty clear is that she's only with the Architect because it plans on ending the Blights. Permanetly.

Next Chapter - Back at the Keep with Layla


	11. Chapter 9) Courts and Consequences

Chapter 9) Courts and Conspiracies

 _Layla POV_

* * *

 _She's going to be ill. There are too many people here, and she is certain she is going to be ill. Automatically, she hunts for Nuada, her twin, her protector. But he's not here. He's dealing with his duties, far in Vigil's Keep, and he has too much to worry about. She knows from the letters and reports she gets. Things are dangerous for their home, and she has to do her part. The last thing they need is another civil war. So, even though she's certain she'll be ill, she keeps the smile and speaks kindly._

 _Alistair seems to know she's faltering, though, as he sneakily grabs her hand and kisses her cheek. She blushes, unable to help it, and the group laughs. She first thinks they're mocking her, but the smiles are indulgent. Regardless of how many believe her family plotted a coup or something, they at least find them cute._

 _She could use that. And she would._

* * *

By the time we returned to Vigil's Keep, I had a horrible headache. All of us were exhausted, particularly Anders. It was not helped, of course, by all the people who greeted us when we returned, overwhelming all of us. Aiden managed to slip away to administer the Joining to Velanna. Anders also disappeared, either to pass out or to check the infirmary. I, sadly, spent the better part of an hour reading through missives I barely understood, wondering just why people thought I could handle things like rescuing hostages or dealing with shipwrecks. I decided that most could be used as training things for our militia, but I did not know. I truly did not. However, it all paled to what Anora told me when she insisted on us having tea.

"There is a conspiracy brewing against me?" I asked tiredly. If I had more energy, I might have been more annoyed or frustrated. As it was, it took a lot of effort to not simply faint in my seat. It was frustrating. I had fought through countless battles, yet an afternoon of paperwork exhausted me. Then again… oh, I no longer cared. "Somehow, I am not surprised."

"I worry that it gained ground because you left so soon after a disaster," Anora explained. She busied herself making tea for us both, in a surprisingly sunny room with soft curtains by the window. "People expect an active leader, but you must choose how you are active, I am afraid."

"Well, it would help if people actually gave me advice instead of hiding when I try to ask questions!" I could not help but snap, and worried she would retaliate. Instead, she simply remained calm, surprisingly so. I had been certain she would argue back. "But, instead, I…" Tears pricked my eyes, so I fell silent. I did not want to cry, not over something like this. I was just horribly tired, and I felt horribly lonely.

"I suppose in an effort to not overstep boundaries, I instead made things worse." She smiled apologetically, and I had to fight to keep from being surprised. I had not thought she… Ah, I had been discourteous. Once again, life reminded me that I did not know everything. "I promise, though, that it was in an attempt to help."

"Was it?"

"Yes. For one thing, I feel as if you must make your own mistakes if you are going to decide how you are going to rule. It's how I learned, at least. I am also…" Anora paused to offer me sugar for my tea. I shook my head. I normally did have sugar, but at the moment, I felt too nauseous. "Oh, let me be blunt. I am a strong person. There are many watching, ready to jump on any signs of me 'controlling' you."

"Why?" I groaned and facepalmed when the answer came easily. "No, I am sorry. It is obvious."

"I love my father, but his choices damned both him and me. Particularly here. The people of these lands will not forget so easily that my father let Howe rule them." She smiled sadly. "I do promise I am here to help you. Unfortunately, I… have to learn how to help. I am not in a position I thought I would be, same as you."

"…Yeah…" I sipped the tea and found myself relaxing. When I had seen her before, I had been… I had been biased. But I could see, just a little, why Nuada still liked her. Of course, she could probably be manipulating me, but… "Why did Nuada not tell me, though? Why did he not warn me about a conspiracy or that I might…?"

"You mean the same Nuada who frequently forgets that not everyone knows everything?" She said the words so dryly that I could not help but laugh. "The same Nuada who is absolutely in love with you and, as a result, is terrified he'll accidentally teach you his bad habits? The same Nuada who once showed up to a tournament with a broken leg that was badly braced because it was his duty to attend?"

"He did not!" But I knew she had to be telling the truth. That was how he was. "He could just say that to me, instead of… I do not know…"

"Running away and being bad at explaining himself?" Anora finally sat down and smiled wryly. "He's been that way for a while, by the way. As long as I've known him. It wasn't until he met you all that he began changing. But you still do need to yell at him."

"I suppose…" I picked up my tea, but found it too hot still, so I simply held it. "Though, to be fair, things tend to be horribly weird with us, so I felt obligated to look into it personally. However, I suppose I should have left it to Aiden alone." It was not as if my presence made any particular difference. I simply helped Aiden, and he could have handled it alone. All of us… we probably needed to become used to 'doing things alone'. Though, the thought made me sad. We might have split up to cover different tasks, but we had still been grouped together. "Still, it was weird. We had been right about that."

"Was it?"

"Yes, it was extremely unusual."

"In that case, it might be a good idea to let tiny details. Nothing confidential, but things to help explain the circumstances. That way, it will be easier for Varel to put a positive spin to your leaving so soon. He's here to help you too, though he will defer to you, and will follow the law."

"I see." I tentatively sipped the tea and nearly scalded my tongue. I wished it would cool faster. "Oh, what was the second thing? You said 'for one thing' earlier."

"Oh, that?" Anora shrugged. "I honestly thought you would have far more time to flail about and find your way on your own. You are a hero, a military leader, and according to eyewitness reports, you completely demolished over a hundred darkspawn on your own. I am frankly startled by the lack of self-preservation these conspirators show, conspiring against you."

"…Well, when you put it that way…" I had to giggle and she smiled slightly. "I imagine that also played a role in why Nuada did not say anything."

"I imagine so as well. Clearly, he and I expected them to be smarter than they are."

"Do you have suggestions for… fixing things? Is that the proper word?"

"Not quite. Regardless of the conspiracy, things are not broken yet. You might get a little revolt, but nothing too big. You might want to been seen doing more administrative tasks." She snapped her fingers and leaned forward. "Ah, of course. You can hold court."

"You want me to hold a ball?" I frowned. "Given how things are…"

"No, no, wrong 'court'. Judgment court. There are a few cases now that can be brought to your attention."

"Is that so?" I hesitated before nodding. Ruling Amaranthine would be very different than leading an army. It made sense, but I needed to remember that. "Please, then, can you tell me about them? I never attended a court before."

"Certainly." She actually smiled warmly. "Now, should we start at the beginning or...?"

"Please."

"Of course."

* * *

"You have very lovely hair, Layla," Anora commented, pinning my hair up in front of a vanity. It was the day after our return to the Keep, and I was holding the 'court' as she had suggested. I tried to focus on that task, and not on Velanna. She had survived her Joining, but took longer to recover than typical. Anders and I had determined it was due to the frankly awful way she had been taking care of herself. She was horribly underweight, among other things. "I can see why Nuada compliments it a lot."

"He does?" I asked, curious. I did not remember him paying particularly close attention to my hair. "Wait, you two talk about me?"

"Of course. I do like teasing him." She finished pinning my hair, and tucked a lily behind my ear, securing it with even more pins. "He gets adorably flustered, and it is a means for us to get to know each other again. He learns to trust me again, and I learn the new him."

"You tease him mostly for the former, though."

"Of course." She laughed again, but this time, it sounded a bit mirthless. "Ah, you are easy to talk to. I overthought it."

"You are much easier to talk to than I thought as well. I thought you would be…" I trailed off, realizing how insulting that sentence was about to be. "Um…"

"You can say 'bitch'. It would not be the first time I have been called that, nor will it be the last." Anora, however, smiled. It was a tired and bitter smile, but one nonetheless. "I was convinced only my father and I really knew how to protect to Fereldan or, at least, the only ones willing to do what it takes. I was proven wrong."

"I am glad you admit that."

"Well, I have to. You all saved Fereldan, though I wish…" She focused on the pins, frowning over them. "I liked being queen. I liked having that power. I do still wish I could have ruled in my own right. But I am also aware that things could be worse. My father is alive and my home is safe. Gwaren is in safe hands and… well, even though I still think Alistair isn't up to the task of being king, I know Elspeth is."

"He is studying."

"True. I think he's determined to prove me wrong. I still win if he does, though." She nodded in satisfaction and stepped back. "There. You are dressed to impress. We will have to scout you a good maid once things settle down to help you with this."

I chose against pointing out that I really did not want a maid, mostly because I had a feeling the response would be something like 'as the Arlessa, you will need one'. So, instead, I smiled and left my room with her. When we made it to the main room, she went to sit in the audience and Seneschal Varel led me to the 'throne'.

"I am afraid this will take most of the morning, my lady," he explained to me quietly. "I will announce the cases and advise you as you need or wish." He helped me sit down in the throne so that my skirts were settled neatly around me. "Are you prepared? If you truly wish, I can simply hold the court for you."

"You have been doing quite a bit of my job for me, Seneschal," I whispered, smiling bitterly. I was nervous, especially since Anora was the only person I knew in the crowd, but I would not let it show. "I should try it, for once."

"There are many ways to do your duty, Warden-Arlessa Amell. I am content to do what I need while you decide what way best suits you." He smiled reassuringly before turning serious and facing the crowd. "We shall begin the court with the matter of the Crown against the shepherd, Alec." The guards nudged a man probably in his late twenties, at most, before me. "Alec stole two bushels of grain bound for the garrison in Amaranthine. When confronted, he confessed." The punishment for stealing from the crown is death by hanging." My instinctual response was how that seemed a _little_ harsh, but I managed to bite my tongue in time. "Alec, what say you?"

"My sheep were slaughtered by the darkspawn," he explained softly, speaking more to the ground than at me. His clothes hung loosely on him, as if he lost a great amount of weight recently. He flinched at every sound, aware of the odds stacked against him. "My family was starving. I ask for understanding in this."

"What would his punishment be if he had not stolen from the crown?" I asked Seneschal Varel softly. It really did sound more than a little harsh to hang him.

"A flogging, at worst, my lady," Seneschal Varel answered easily, just as softly. "But stealing from the crown is considered a betrayal of oaths, my lady."

"I thought no formal oaths were sworn by freeholders." At the least, I remembered Aiden telling me that, long ago.

"At the same time, we are all sworn to obey the king, even in Fereldan where the kings are chosen by the Landsmeet, because we are Fereldans. The absence of actual oaths is why he would not face so harsh a punishment otherwise."

"I understand." I fell silent, thinking. Honestly, my very first thought was to dismiss the charge, but I knew that would be a bad idea. Death was out of the question, and flogging… I could do that, but even that felt wrong and it would not solve the problem. He and his family would still be starving, so what was a way to fix that? After a moment, a single idea came to me. "What about the army?" The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. "We lost many soldiers due to the Blight, and we lost many guards during the ambush. What if Alec instead serves in the army?" I looked to Seneschal Varel. "I would like it if he could feed his family, but perhaps he should have a reduced pay, since this is a punishment?"

"I can work out the details," Seneschal Varel promised. He smiled slightly and nodded. "Very well, the matter is settled." Alec's face lit up with a smile, and he bowed deeply before being shown outside. "Next is a serious matter. Danella, a soldier of the Vigil, abandoned her post and was caught three leagues away." Seneschal Varel gestured, and an angry looking woman stepped up. In her anger, though, I saw some very real fear. "Even if we were not in a state of emergency, the penalty for desertion is death. I doubt I need to explain why."

"The breaking of oaths is a serious matter."

"It is indeed. Danella, you may speak your peace."

"I am no coward who fled," she immediately snapped. The crowd murmured uneasily, but I kept calm. Considering everything, if this did somehow turn violent, I was fairly certain I could handle her. "I asked the old captain several times to release me from my oath. The darkspawn are too near my family's farm! Am I supposed to abandon them to those monsters?"

"I understand wishing to protect one's family, but why do you act as if you alone have family under threat? I am certain there were many who stayed who feared the same," Seneschal Varel easily countered. She flinched and deflated, and he used the opportunity to whisper to me. "The soldiers are afire over this one. Danella is an accomplished scout and well liked. But desertion could destroy the army."

"We need a balance, then," I murmured. This one was not one I could 'solve' the problem with. The problem was ongoing, and would continue to be ongoing for a while. So, for this, I needed to lessen the punishment, but still keep one. There had to be a consequence. "I do believe the motive should mitigate the crime. I know long-term imprisonment is looked down upon, but in this case, I believe it is a good compromise." At least, I remembered Aiden mentioning that to me once, long ago. I hoped I was correct. "You abandoning your post no doubt left weak points in our defenses. You broke your oath. But you did so because of the unspoken oaths you have to protect your family. I can understand that, so, instead of execution, you will be imprisoned for a year."

She bowed to me, apparently accepting that, and was led off by guards, a couple of which patted her back reassuringly. I did not have the luxury of watching, though, as Seneschal Varel called for the next one. On and on, the judgments went. Most were thankfully simple, but others were complex. I did my best, but could tell I made some enemies. Still, Seneschal Varel seemed to approve of what I decided, and Anora caught my eye to give me small and reassuring smiles. That kept me going until the end, but once it was all over, I retired to a back room and flopped into a chair, completely drained. Anders, surprisingly, met me with a glass of water, with timing so perfect, I knew he had to have been watching. I wondered from where; I had not seen him.

"You looked amazing up there," he complimented. His smile, however, was sad. "You looked very far away, though."

"I am right here, as always," I pointed out, downing the water in one gulp. Sitting up there did make things clear. I would be very busy as Arlessa, and would not be traveling as much as a 'Warden'. That made me sad, but part of me found it funny. I used to hate traveling about, and being outside. Now, when I would likely stay in one place, I was irritated. "I am also still the girl who accidentally made your hair stand straight up because of a lightning spell."

"Took forever to get it down." He grinned a bit, but it quickly faded. "Still, it was amazing. A mage in power. A _good_ mage in power, instead of the scary stories of magisters. It's a shame that others aren't given the same chances."

"They are more than welcome to suffer through a Blight to get the chance, Anders."

"They shouldn't have to suffer at all. Not for something like that."

"I would not have gotten it if not for… oh, forget it." I was not up for a philosophical discussion right now. "It is what it is."

"But it shouldn't. No one else is locked up for simply who they are."

"There is this thing called 'Alienages', Anders, where elves are treated as second-class citizens, at best, and are essentially locked up since they are not allowed to live anywhere else. You may talk to Aiden about it." I sighed and absently wondered how Shianni was doing. "At least in the Circle, we had guaranteed meals, and were taught how to read and write."

"Oh, sure and-"

"Anders." I made my voice as firm as possible. "I am exhausted, and this is an argument we have had in the past. I _liked_ the Circle, remember? It kept me safe when…" I almost said 'my father', but I knew that was not true. Again, I wondered who my real-birth-father was. Who did my mother have an affair with? "Please."

"I… of course." He smiled sadly. "I shouldn't have gone off like that. You have too much to deal with as is."

"For all your talk of running away, Anders, you have always been the angriest at the Circle." I thought it was because he dealt with not only his anger and fear, but the anger and fear of those around him. Empathy was no gift, even if it was useful. "But, you have also always been the kindest of us. I know you hate fighting."

"Is it 'hate' or just really not liking all the emotions people feel when they die?" He laughed like it was a joke, but I could only look at him sadly. "Oh, come on. Morbid jokes are still jokes."

"I am too tired to humor you." Still, I did my best to smile for him. "I am not saying you are wrong, Anders. I just…"

"You have too much going on. I understand." He came over to hug me and I hugged him back. "You know what? We should gorge ourselves on sweets. I'm hungry anyway."

"That does sound lovely." On cue, my stomach growled. "Er…"

"Sweets time~" He helped me up with a snicker, one that got louder when I scowled. "Let's find the most expensive ones."

"No, let us not. I might need that money."

"They're _already_ there." He sighed. "Oh, fine. We'll find something cheaper."

"Thank you."

* * *

Nuada, Cleon, Oghren, and Nathaniel returned early the next day, alongside a new recruit: a cheerful girl named Sigrun. I was startled by how horribly injured they all were, and Anders and I worked through most of the morning tending to… most of them. Nuada disappeared before Anders and I could get him, which annoyed me severely. But we tended to the others, got Sigrun through her Joining safely, and then went to find him, ready to scold him.

"How do you _forget_ to get your injuries looked at?" I demanded, tending to his injuries. I had finally cornered him in our room, finding him in the middle of changing and working on some paperwork. "You are in love with a healer, in case you have forgotten!"

"Now, how can I forget being in love with the most beautiful and skilled healer I have ever seen?" he replied easily, with a grin. I scowled up at him, but his grin did not waver. "But I went numb from exhaustion a while ago, so I did, in fact, forget."

"You forgot something tried to eat you?" I dabbed antiseptic on the bite wound on his neck. It was a miracle he had not bled out. "Nuada…!"

"I didn't forget that. I just… forgot to get a checkup, because normally, you've already done it?" He winced a bit from pain. "Are you mad that something else has been biting my neck? I assure you that it wasn't a consensual thing."

"Nuada!" Still, I softened a bit, looking sadly at his injuries, each one a testament at how close he had been to death. I wished he would let me simply heal him with magic, but he specifically asked for the minimal. "No, I am not mad. I am annoyed you forgot to get looked at. I am also annoyed that we foolishly did not send a healer with your group."

"Yeah, I think arrogance nearly cost us again." His hand came up to the scar on his face, the one that resulted in his blinded eye. "You would think we'd know better by now."

"You really would think so."

"Safe to come in?" Aiden suddenly opened the door without knocking, holding it open for Cleon. "Oh, good, you're both dressed," he half-joked, shutting the door behind them. Cleon sprawled out on the floor next to where Nuada and I sat, so he just plopped down onto the floor too. "So, shall we share information?"

'Well, there is a civil war among the darkspawn,' Cleon signed. He twisted to rest his head on Aiden's leg and closed his eyes briefly. 'Also, Nuada and I are both idiots.'

"I think all of us are, given that Layla and I also got ambushed." Aiden sighed and pointed to Nuada's injuries. "No magic?"

"Nuada requested it," I answered. Nuada's half-smile all but screamed 'please do not inquire further', so I made sure to keep the subject serious. Since I was working on his injuries, Nuada signed for me. "Still, you saw darkspawn in a civil war? I wonder if that talking darkspawn we saw was one of the leaders."

"Now that is certainly a thought," Aiden murmured. Cleon poked him, a silent plea to elaborate. "We met another talking darkspawn, who apparently leads other darkspawn clever enough to _frame_ people. And has a Warden helping him. Former Warden. Whichever. Also, escaping from a darkspawn infested but otherwise abandoned mine was way harder than escaping a high security prison."

"That one we had a lot of extra advantages, and a refuge in audacity," Nuada instantly pointed out. Cleon and I shared an exasperated look. The two never did explain just how they got out. They simply had, and Aiden completely blamed Nuada for it. "You clearly dealt with competent leadership. Howe was technically in charge of the place."

"Point made." Aiden smiled wryly before growing serious. "Still, a civil war… is that what caused all your injuries?"

"No, part of it was a _flaming golem_ , which suck by the way, and the rest were these new things that not even Oghren knew. They're creepy maggot things, and we are calling them 'the Children' for now, based on something a dying Legion member told us. That's what bit me." Nuada gestured at his neck for emphasis. I wondered where 'the Mother' was, if we were fighting 'the Children'. "They eat darkspawn and heal their injuries. They are creepy and gross, almost as bad as a broodmother."

'By the way, there were broodmothers again,' Cleon signed. Aiden shuddered, and I grimaced. I had not seen one yet, but the descriptions were enough to make me certain I never wanted to. 'Also I will apologize later for not warning you two about the possible Dalish conflict in the woods. That literally slipped my mind, and you might have been slightly more prepared for Velanna. Might.'

"She's very admiring of you, by the way," I told Cleon. Cleon frowned a little and I giggled. "She warmed right up to us when we mentioned you."

'Weird. She normally stayed away from me. Got along rather well with Merril, though.' As always, Cleon smiled slightly at this Merril. I wanted to ask, but I knew better. It was as off limits as the topic of Morrigan for now. 'Well, she is a talent mage, for all that she has the social graces of a particularly catty cat.'

"Any tips?"

'Be honest, and be careful about compliments. She is prickly and her temper flares at unexpected moments. But feel free to call her out. She will accept it with comparative grace.' Cleon snapped his fingers and poked Aiden's stomach. 'You. Something is bothering you.'

"…Let me gather my thoughts a bit more on it," Aiden replied. His slight smile proved he had tried to hide it, but he was also glad we saw through the façade. "I'll talk later."

"You sure?" Nuada asked, frowning worriedly. However, he nodded when Aiden did. "Very well. Oh, Sigrun is a chipper Legion of the Dead member, by the way. She's an absolute delight, but I worry she'll be reckless on account of the whole 'death seeker' thing."

"We'll focus on at least letting her enjoy the life she has. Perhaps we can encourage her to at least wait for her Calling. We really do need more Wardens."

"Has there been anything from the other countries?"

"No, not yet. I might need to send another missive. It might've gotten lost. Then again, it's only been…" Aiden paused and then shrugged, throwing his hands up in the air before bringing them down again to sign. "I have no idea. Time never seems to flow right when we're in the middle of something."

"That's true." Nuada laughed, and before long, the rest of us joined in. "So, I think those are all the basics. Anything else we need to know?"

"Well, there is apparently a conspiracy against me," I commented innocently. I laughed when Nuada and Cleon gave me the most incredulous looks. Aiden did not, which told me someone else had told him earlier. "Nuada, you could have warned me, by the way."

"I didn't think they were _that_ stupid!" Nuada protested. Still, he did take my hand and kiss it, a silent apology. I accepted it with a smile, and started bandaging him up. "Okay, so, who would be involved? I can think of…" Nuada paused suddenly, frowning. At first, I thought he was thinking, but he slowly became more and more annoyed. "What's the number between 'two' and 'four' again?"

"Three?" Aiden answered, voice going a bit high from disbelief. He then started laughing and Cleon hid a smile. "You forgot the number three?"

"I could remember the word in Orlesian, Nervarran, Tevene, and a couple of others. Do you know how many words I know?" Nuada scowled, and it deepened when I began giggling too. "It's like the whole switching language things! I forget words, substitute, and it goes from there!"

"You forgot _three_ , though!"

"Regardless…!" He still scowled, though he softened when I kissed his cheek. "I can think of three, maybe. We don't really have a spy network, though. I could ask Elspeth or Fergus, but that'll take a while."

"Actually, I asked Seneschal Varel about what Layla could do, since she was busy, and learned of a 'Dark Wolf' who…" Aiden trailed off as Cleon suddenly rolled onto his side, shaking from silent laughter. "Uh… Cleon?" Cleon brought up his hand to sign, but he shook his head and made a 'one moment' gesture.

Eventually, he calmed down to sign, 'Dark Wolves is the collective name for Morrigan, Zevran, Elspeth, and me, thanks to us pulling a few heists while you and Nuada were saving Anora.'

"So, this is someone capitalizing on… yeah, okay, this is going to be great." Aiden grinned. "So, I want to visit Amaranthine anyway, since Seneschal Varel mentioned a Warden might still be there. How about I go check that out for you, Layla, while you work a bit here?"

"That sounds good," I replied. I finished bandaging and shifted so that I could rest my head on Nuada's shoulder. I also brought up my hands to sign my own words. "I… ah… might have a lot to do here?"

"To be fair, there's a lot for most of us to do here," Nuada reassured. He kissed my temple before focusing on Aiden and Cleon again. "It might've been a bad idea to head out, even if it helped us and got us some information. I'm horribly behind on paperwork for Gwaren, and Wardens."

"Oh, shit, I might be behind on things then," Aiden groaned. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Well, I am committed to Amaranthine for now."

"I could-"

"If you take one more bit of work, Nuada, I swear to everything holy…"

'Then let me take it,' Cleon offered easily. He even smiled. 'I have the same authority as you, technically speaking, and no official things. Let me take some of the burden, at least with the Warden stuff.'

"That would be a big help," Nuada admitted. The two shared a knowing look, hinting they had actually talked a bit about this. "I'll still handle the budgeting, though."

'I can do math, you know.'

"It's not the math. It's the 'making sure costs match up' part of budgeting. A common way for people to steal money is by inflating the prices of things."

'Never mind.' Cleon sighed gustily and the rest of us snickered. 'You know…' His signs became light and, with his expression, they became very thoughtful. 'We are really bad at this 'rebuilding' thing, aren't we?'

"To be fair, we used to be bad at the whole 'fighting the Blight' thing," Aiden immediately pointed out. He sighed, but smiled. "But yeah. We're bad at this. Doesn't help that we've got unusual things on top of it."

'No, it seems that Fen'harel is very intent on playing tricks on us.'

"We'll make it, though," Nuada whispered. All of us gave him skeptical looks and he scowled. "What? I'm allowed to be optimistic sometimes, you know?"

"It is a strange thing to hear, that is all," I replied innocently, looking up at him. He rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss me. "I am still cross with you, by the way, for not warning me. It is not that much, but I am."

"I know. I deserve it. I'll work on making it up to you."

"Will you, now?"

Something occurred then, but I was not sure what. All I knew what that there was a sort commotion and I turned to see that Aiden was grinning and had rolled an equally amused Cleon off his lap, for some reason. Nuada did not say a word; he simply laughed, even when I tried to figure out just what happened.

They never did tell me, but I did not mind so much. Things like this could be fun, after all.

* * *

Author's note: Soooo, it's… uh… been a while? Almost a year. Sorry for the unexpected hiatus. Fandom antics made it difficult to research and write for Dragon Age for a while. Updates will still be sporadic for a bit as I try to get back into the rhythm of writing for the fandom (as I am horribly out of practice). As it is, have the sidequest 'A Day in Court'. Technically, there's one or two more in the sidequest, but one wouldn't work because Anora's the one to tell Layla about the conspiracy, and the other doesn't work because of the Oathbreaker thing in _Saga of the Wardens_.

Regardless, though… welcome back?

Next Chapter – Aiden in Amaranthine


	12. Chapter 10) Repair

Chapter 10) Repair

 _Aiden POV_

* * *

 _She's not sure what's weirder. Valendrian being an actual Bann? Being able to see Neria (almost) any time she wanted? The new king having three elves as advisors? Seeing children, both shem and elf alike, in the streets emulating Aiden? Her cousin, her precious cousin, always her hero, now being a hero to everyone? The Commander of the Grey, demanding respect from everyone? All of that's weird. But the weirdest thing is probably her ability to just waltz into the castle._

 _"Valendrian, I've snacks for you," she declares, sweeping into the room. King Alistair is working on rebuilding the Alienage, stronger and studier than before, so until then, Valendrian has a permanent room in the castle. "Alarith insisted I bring them."_

 _"Did he now, Shianni?" Valendrian replies. He's reading over a piece of paper, but smiles at her. "And were you all right, making the journey?"_

 _"I was." Valendrian is one of the few people in the world to know what truly happened to her. She squirms and flinches when near shem, particularly noble males, but no longer falls into terrifying panics. She still feels like she wants to rip off her skin, in the hopes that it will also rip away the memory, but at least she can walk around normally. "I'm doing okay."_

 _"I'm glad. I'll need you to take over as hahren, in time."_

 _"Huh?" She frowns, but Valendrian only continues to smile. "Hey, explain!" He doesn't, of course. He continues working, because even with all the good, there are still uprisings and riots against the elves receiving more rights and protections._

 _She's not sure what's weirder. But she is sure that the future will be even weirder._

* * *

I had done many stupid things in the past. Many. Walking into Amaranthine with only a single person for backup (Sigrun), with only one weapon (Fang, Mother's dagger) and no armor? That might be one of the stupidest things I have ever done. I'd opted for that to not stand out as much, since armor always caught attention. Particularly an _elf_ in armor. But walking through the market, ruled by a Bann that we were more or less certain didn't like us made me long for my armor.

Of course, it was Sigrun who started the first bit of commotion. But it wasn't her fault. A passing dwarf had bumped into her and… well…

"Oh, sorry about that!" she yelped, turning to face us. She had a smile, but it dropped for shock. "Sigrun?" Sigrun, for her part, just stared, also in shock. She didn't even react to me helping her stay steady. "Why you… you ungrateful, backstabbing duster!"

"That's a bit rude," I replied automatically. A couple of people glanced at us, but saw the two very short people and the one with pointy ears and completely ignored us. "Who are you?"

"Name's Mischa. I was a merchant until _she_ ruined me." She spat out the words, glaring at Sigrun. Sigrun squirmed uncomfortably. "I had her running errands. Trying to keep one duster out of trouble. Thought I was helping, not setting myself up."

"Seeting yourself up?"

"House Bemot… Bemots… whatever. They lost a gold statuette of their Paragon. Expensive, priceless thing." She scoffed. "And guess what showed up the next day in my shop? Because of _her_!"

"I… I tried to say no!" Sigrun's voice shook as she tried to explain. "Beraht said he'd kill you if I refused!" she continued quickly. There was some fear in her face, and I recognized it as 'old' fear. Beraht, whoever it was, wasn't something she thought fondly of. To put it mildly. "He needed to get rid of it and picked me and…!"

"House Bemot could have had me _executed_!" Mischa countered. "You could've spoken up, told them the truth!" The raw anger there proved what this Mischa was more angered by. It wasn't that Sigrun hid it in her shop. It's that she hadn't spoken up.

"And then Beraht would've killed _me_! Assuming they even would listen to a casteless!"

"Bah!" She threw up her hands, barely holding onto a package. "I don't have time for this. I have to deliver these skins to the tanner. Need to make a living somehow. Out of my way."

She stormed off, disappearing into the crowd. Sigrun almost went after her, but she stayed put instead and then looked up at me with a strained smile. "Wow, here I am at the surface, and still run into someone I knew," she joked. "What a small place Thedas is."

"It can be pretty amusing, sometimes," I replied. I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Do you want to try and talk to her again?"

"Maybe later. Though, it's all in the past." She sighed. "And we've work."

"Information takes time." Still, I caught her slightly pleading look. "The place where Seneschal Varel said the Dark Wolf would be is near. Let's go."

Sigrun stuck close to me as we navigated the market and stepped into an alleyway. Sigrun's hands fell to her dagger and I pretended to be relaxed, ready to strike if the need came. I didn't see anything, good or bad, but that didn't mean much. I paid more attention to Sigrun, knowing her hearing was better than mine, and after a moment, she looked up, clearly catching something. A second later, a shadowy figure dropped down from the roof.

"Ah, so it's the Warden Commander who comes to me?" they asked. They were careful to conceal themselves, from their face to their clothes, but they did bow politely. "It's an honor to meet you. I am the Dark Wolf."

"Seneschal Varel mentioned you sent a letter, offering assistance," I replied, nodding back. "Of course, I was expecting someone else. I know who the 'original' Dark Wolf is."

"Somehow, I am not surprised the original ones were your companions. But, I doubt they can keep up the role. After all, the Heroes of the Blight are very busy, no?" They kept their tone respectful, even as it lightened. "So, some others and myself decided to build on that legacy. Rather like the Friends of Red Jenny."

"So long as you keep to the moral side of things. Well, as moral as shadows go." Red Jenny… I'd heard a bit about them. Some sort of network that helped get revenge on those who preyed on the 'lower folk'. I always avoided them, though. They were incredibly random in their methods. "So, why did you send the letter to Vigil's Keep?"

"There's murmurs of nobles that want our new arlessa dead. I'd like to assist." They shrugged. "Seems simple enough."

"I won't say 'no', but I am curious as to why." I smiled slightly, and glanced down at Sigrun. She kept silent and kept a close eye on the person and our surroundings. I'd leave it to her. "Pretty rare to simply have help offered."

"Well, I have hopes that she will prove more fit to rule this land that the last one." They shrugged and I had to smile. "And since his confederates are the most likely conspirators…"

"What do you need from me, then?"

"Bit of coin, nothing more. We all have to make a living, and coin is cleaner than weapons."

"I see." I looked into my coinpurse, glad Lord Nuada insisted on me carrying a bunch of money. Information was always costly. "How much?"

* * *

We settled on a price and decided to wander about a bit before going to the inn where supposedly the Warden Kristoff had been. Mostly to put more people there and to not stand out as much, though it was also to catch some gossip. After all, gossip was simultaneously the best and worse source of information. Let me know, at least, what was going on outside of Amaranthine.

Most bits were only tangentially useful or interesting. One, however, hurt my heart. Apparently, Edgewall's alienage had its walls destroyed due to darkspawn and there was no move to rebuild it. At first, I wondered why, but then remembered hearing at how Edgewall's alienage was actually _outside_ the city, instead of being a separate district within like most. So, it made sense there had been no repairs. No one cared if only elves were in danger. If it were humans, then it would've been repaired at once.

The thought made me sad and frustrated and I had to remind myself that some changes had to be slow, particularly given how many changes Alistair wanted to make. I already knew there were fast changes as well. My home was being repaired, for instance, and even made _better_. Fergus had expanded the Alienage in Highever to give everyone more room. Reparations, guaranteed food… things like that. But it still hurt my heart.

"You look like you found yourself on the wrong side of a bronto," Sigrun joked. I frowned at her, wondering just what a 'bronto' was. Besides, clearly, something I didn't want to be on the wrong side of. "What's up?"

"It's nothing really," I explained. I looked around the market and kept a good grip on my coinpurse. I saw a couple of pickpockets scurrying about. "I was just caught up in my thoughts."

"About what?"

"Just… the elves and how we're treated." I smiled sadly at her. "That's all."

"I heard that surfacers don't treat elves as equals. Well, nonhumans in general, but especially elves."

"It's true. To the point that if there is a crime against us, they take their sweet time investigating." My mother's murder took months for them to even start investigating. We of the Alienage knew what happened before the 'official' word. "Even the best paid elf is nothing more than a servant, and often times, they're the victims of abuse and assault." I'd been lucky, but I knew others weren't. "Often, we're considered little better than pets. Fetishized for our 'elven' features." Zevran told me how the Crows purposely picked out elves for assassin, just for that purpose.

"Sounds tiring."

"Extremely. Then there are those who think us incapable, naïve, and in desperate need of hand-holding." The Couslands had been like that. I'd made myself not think on it, because they didn't beat us, but it was frustrating being considered little more than a child. "Of course, when you're used to being treated like dirt, you forget you can even stand up." Worse was the ones like me, who knew, but swallowed my anger. Never processing my own hurt and frustration properly, forcing myself to be like 'not all shem' and setting myself up for pain. In retrospect, I wondered if that was why I'd reacted so badly with Vaughan. Of course, I didn't regret killing him, but… "Though, Fereldan doesn't normally have trouble with purges and 'rabbit hunts'. That I know of, at least."

"Rabbit?"

"Rabbit is an insult some use against us, because our ears are pointy, like an animal's."

"Oh, maybe that was the other reason why Velanna snapped at me." Sigrun coughed, looking a little embarrassed. "You'd think I'd think about that, considering how castleless are treated."

"Velanna snapped at you? Who would've thought."

"She's a grumpy sort of person. But apparently she's self-conscious about how large her ears are." She sighed, grumbling a bit. "But seriously, why didn't I even think about that? Casteless are considered to be no better than animals too, and absolutely worthless."

"Probably the same reason I never thought much of the word 'casteless' until I walked into Dust Town on accident?"

"Point." She snickered. "Though, I will admit, my question was more of 'what is a rabbit' than an explanation of why you'd be called that."

"Oh, oops." I hadn't even considered that. Ah, there were still so many things to learn. "There's… oh, none on sale. I'll describe it later."

"Sounds good!" She laughed, but her expression soon turned seriously. I stepped closer to her as the crowd tried to push us apart. "All that reminds me of life as a casteless. You saw it, right? When you were in Orzammar? Dust Town, home sweet home." She kicked a rock and watched it skip across the road. "The crumbling ruin of an old castle, forever in the shadow of the rich and powerful. The one alienage I saw looked nice in comparison."

"Depends on the alienage. And the local lord."

"True." She kicked another rock. This one rolled into a person, so we quickly ducked behind some strangers to not be seen. "Still, it was awful, I guess. No rights. Not even people, really. No education, no training… not a lot of options. And you're branded to make sure of it." She pointed to the tattoo on her face for emphasis. "You had Carta, begging, street sweeping, and other jobs too dangerous and menial for 'proper' dwarves. Well, unless you decided to try noble hunting, but that was mostly girls."

"Why is that?"

"Well, males in society are encouraged to be promiscuous, while females of noble caste have to 'protect their honor' or something stupid. But in Orzammar, a child inherits the caste of their same-sex parent. So, if a noble hunting woman bore a son to a noble, the son is noble and the woman's life is set." She shrugged. "Rica Brosca is one, though supposedly, Bhelen's got real feelings for her. Talks of him marrying her."

"I met her sister, I believe."

"Natia?" Sigrun smiled slightly. "She was always a demon with a blade. She's as pretty as her sister, and Beraht, the old leader, wanted to make her a noble hunter too. Then decided she was far better as an enforcer."

"She leads the Carta now."

"Good on her! She won't blackmail casteless. Nobles, maybe." She said the words lightly, but there was a bitterness in her eyes. She hated Beraht, even now. "She keeps her word too. Careful about giving it to keep it that way."

"Bhelen supposedly is going to change things." That all reminded me, though. Natia had promised help from the Carta. I needed to check and see if that was just 'during the Blight' or a continued thing. I could use the opportunity to check in on Zerlinda as well. "That's good."

"Oh, yeah. You guys put him on the throne. Kardol liked it." She hummed a bit in thought, and I tried to not shudder at the memory of that hectic journey. So many things haunted my nightmares. "Already a few. Still kinda sucks that you have to wait. Especially when it doesn't quite effect you anymore, but you can't help but feel like you need to still care."

"That's a horrible feeling." I sighed, and shrugged. "Still, when you want to fix the world, you have to go step by step, piece by piece. You have to constantly fight against those who think they know more or those who want to keep the status quo. But you have to keep fighting. You have to keep pushing. Change only comes when people challenge the 'normal'." It was slow, but so long as you didn't give up, change would come. "And I'm very lucky. My friends and I may not always agree, but we listen to each other and do our best to fix any mistakes we make. We work together to try and make the world better. So, I don't have to fight alone."

"That's… inspiring." She looked up at me curiously. "How you guys known each other long?"

"Uh…" I had to pause to think about it. "I think we've known each other for… nine months? Ten? I'd have to check the date."

"What." Her jaw dropped. "Seriously?! You guys haven't even known each other for a year?!"

"I don't think so, no?" I shrugged, unbothered. "Are you that surprised?"

"Yes!" She went on a little ramble on just how surprising it was, but I found myself quickly distracted by other thoughts. Other people I needed to check in on.

Like Nessiara. I'd heard nothing about her since my conscription. I needed to write a letter home, to Shianni, Soris, and Valendrian. I needed to check in on Nessa, who I encouraged to stay with Shianni. Amethyne, who was basically family, whose mother, Iona, died at Highever. Other people I hadn't thought about in a long while. Still hadn't asked about, even though I knew so many had died or been sold off.

Maybe this was why we were so bad at this 'rebuilding' thing. Everything had happened so fast during the Blight. Constantly hurrying and racing about. It's only now that any of us really had a chance to look around at all the shards left behind. It wasn't just the kingdom we were rebuilding. We were also rebuilding ourselves and truly realizing just how _different_ everything was. How _different_ we were. We laughed often about it, but now, it really hit us.

I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. It was a thing, though. I'd talk to the others about it, later.

* * *

After wandering the market for a while longer, we walked into the Crown and Lion, Amaranthine's main inn and tavern, to try and hunt down Kristoff. It was very bustling, filled with people on break from work, laughing and cheering. Of course, because this was just our luck, we ran right into Mischa again. Almost literally, thanks to a drunk clapping me on the back in enthusiasm, making me trip over Sigrun, and we both just barely managed to not bust our faces on the table. Way to make a second impression, huh?

"You? Again?" Mischa groaned, facepalming. Sigrun and I got ourselves steady again, and almost just left. Sigrun, however, decided to stay, so I stayed with her. "Going to get me kicked out of Amaranthine too?"

"I… I know that n-nothing I say will make things better," Sigrun began. An idea sparked in her eyes and she hunted through her pockets and pulled out a gold ring. "Um… here? Have this?"

"A ring?" Mischa took it, but gave Sigrun a skeptical look. "A proposal? You're not my type."

"It's… it'll fetch a fair price, even on the surface. I think. So, you can… um…" Sigrun looked down and curled into herself. I knew the pose. It was to make herself smaller, and not as much of a target. "You can sell it. Rebuild your life with the money."

"Huh." She inspected the ring closely, frowning. "This looks like the crest of House Vollney. Stole this off a noble, did you?"

"No, it belonged to a friend." Sigrun's eyes were pained, and I remembered that she had lost most of her friends. Cleon had told me "So…"

"Sigrun, that's a memento, isn't it?" I murmured. I reached in between them and looked at Mischa, even as I kept talking to Sigrun. "You lost your friend barely a week ago. What's the monetary value? I'll match it instead."

"Oh?" Mischa asked, intrigued. She looked at the ring and then at me. "Twenty sovereigns. Easily."

"Then here." I pulled the amount out of my coinpurse, absently aware that, at one time, I never would've even considered the price. Now, thanks to everything, I had more money than I really knew what to do with. "I'll buy the ring off of you."

"Thank you." She took the money without a fuss and handed the ring to Sigrun herself. "You've a true friend here, Sigrun. Try to not ruin it."

"Oh, he's my boss," Sigrun quickly explained. She smiled brightly at the ring and tucked it back into her pocket. "I'm a Warden now. This is the Commader."

"I… huh?" Mischa stared for a moment before looking at me. "You are?" she asked. I had to bite back a smile. "You're smaller than I thought."

"I shrank in my last bath, very sad," I retorted. Though it was amusing now, I had little doubts it would be this amusing in the future. I was certain the stories would 'accidentally forget' to mention that I was an elf, among other things. "But yes, I am. Sigrun is helping us out."

"I see." She looked down briefly and smiled at Sigrun. It was small, and a bit bitter, but it was a smile. "This will go a long way. I could start another business. You've done right, Sigrun." She drained the last of her drink and left without another word.

Sigrun watched her leave, before sighing. "Thank you, Commander," Sigrun whispered. "That ring does mean a lot."

"I figured."

"Yeah…" She looked down and continued absently, almost like she was just thinking aloud. "My mother's name was Jana. Shared a house, hovel really, with her, my Uncle Boro, my aunt, and my four cousins. I became a thief to help make ends meet. Or to fill my belly. That's how Mischa met me. She saw me stealing and, instead, just paid for it. Gave me honest work. You saw how it turned out. By the time that all happened, my mother died. Crushed by a bronto while unloading things. My uncle didn't want me back. So, I joined the Carta. Did well until I got caught stealing Damira Helmi's tacky purse."

"Tacky?" I probably shouldn't have interrupted, but I was far too curious.

"Ruby. Encrusted." She rolled her eyes and I laughed. That just seemed impractical. "The guards chased, I fought back, and somehow, I killed one. I got a choice then. Legion or execution. Picked the Legion. Best decision ever." She brought up the ring, smiling sadly at it. "Varlen befriended me, though. Taught me how to read and write. Let me borrow his only book whenever I wanted." She looked up at me, and smiled. "He was my first real friend. But it was also the only thing on me worth any money. Most give their stuff away, before the Legion." She pocketed the ring again and rolled her shoulders. "And that's enough of being introspective and boring. We've a job here, right?"

"We do. Ready?"

"Yep!" She grinned. "Let's go!"

Laughing at her enthusiasm, we made our slow way to the innkeeper. I waited until he was free before catching his attention and quietly telling him that I was the Warden-Commander and wanted to know about Kristoff. Thankfully, he believed me immediately about being the Commander, and told me how Kristoff had left a while ago. Even gave me the key to his room so that I could look around.

The room, however, was pretty sparse. Most possessions seemed to be away, though there were still things here and there. Someone who had taken things useful, but had planned on being back for the rest. Sigrun poked around, focused on hiding places, but I flipped through the papers on the desk. I found a letter from someone named 'Aura' and, more importantly, a journal. I flipped through in absently and frowned over the last entry. It talked of darkspawn travelers in the Blackmarsh. Talking darkspawn… a 'worm with legs'… the odd darkspawn and those Children things Nuada and Cleon described.

"Looks like he left for the Blackmarsh," I murmured. I looked at the map pinned to the wall, and found it fairly quickly. It was one of the few places not crossed out. "That sounds like a delightful place."

"Pretty much as soon as you attach the word 'marsh' to anything, you're condemning it to being an awful place," Sigrun groaned, crawling out from under the bed. She sat back on her heels and rubbed at her eyes. "It just sounds wrong."

"It does." I smiled at her, pointing to her hair to subtly mention the dust. She brushed it out easily. "Find anything?"

"Other than the cleaners here have been skimping? Nope." She stood up, and stretched. "Well, Dark Wolf now?"

"Yeah, I think we've found all we're going to here, for now." I set the journal back on the desk. "Let's leave word, in case he comes back, and then head off."

We left the room, making sure to lock it behind us, and returned the key. While I was giving the innkeeper my message, though, I glanced about the room, just in case, and discovered a familiar face I hadn't expected. So, I bolted for her, wondering if I could surprise her. But Wynne saw me before I could try. Something about her smile told me she'd seen me long before I'd seen her.

"Well, if it isn't the Warden-Commander!" Wynne greeted with a laugh. She gave me a hug and gestured to a nearby chair. "How have you been? You look exhausted."

"Let's just say things continue to be weird," I replied, also laughing. I hadn't expected to see any of my old friends here. "Ah, this is Sigrun, by the way." I gestured to the very confused Sigrun as I sat down. "She's a newer recruit, from the Legion."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear." Wynne signaled one of the waitresses. "More ale, please."

"I'll pay."

"Now, Aiden…" Wynne laughed again. "Ah, how about we split the check?"

"Done." I waved Sigrun to a chair. She sat slowly, still very confused. "Sigrun, this is Wynne. She's a friend, and one of my companions during the Blight. Had to deal with us being idiots."

"I enjoyed every minute of it."

"I'm sure. Where's Shale? Last I heard, she was with you."

"She was, but she decided to go to Orzammar. Make sure that they're treating the golems properly." Her smile faded a bit for concern. "That's where I heard that the darkspawn aren't retreating as they should. Have you all been doing okay? I know what you just said, but…"

"We're managing. We have fewer allies than we wanted." I shrugged and thanked the waitress when she set out the mugs of ale. "So, it's a ragtag bunch of misfits again."

"Things with the Circle are a little tense at the moment, but I can ask them to try and send you some aid, if you'd like."

"Honestly, that would be helpful, but why is it tense?" I sipped the ale and grinned. They broke out the _good_ stuff for us. "Is it because of Uldred?"

"Not exactly. It's the College of Magi. It's convening in Cumberland and…" She sighed. "Well, hopefully, this will all blow over before it's begun. It's poor timing, among other things. But nothing for you to be concerned over."

"Well, now that you _said_ that, I know that I will, somehow, be involved." I knew how my luck went. In fact, knowing my luck, I'd somehow be indirectly responsible for it. "So…?"

"I… oh, fine. It might actually affect the Wardens." Wynne sipped her own ale, and I briefly checked on Sigrun. She was firmly fascinated and distracted by her drink, so I focused completely on Wynne. "Did Layla ever tell you about the fraternities of the Circle?"

"I don't recall her explaining them, no."

"Right. Well, I am part of the Aequitarians. We're the dominant faction in the College of Magi. We believe that mages must use their abilities in a responsible and ethical manner, regardless of Chantry law."

"You know; you could've just left it with 'I am this' and I would've guessed all of that." I laughed when she rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'll be quiet."

"Good." She grinned to let me know she didn't really mind before continuing on. "Now, Isolationists are those who wish to separate themselves from everything. Templars, Chantry, civilization in general."

"And where would they go? Across the Amaranthine Sea? Somehow?"

"I have no idea." She sipped more of her ale. "Then there are the Loyalists. They are those who follow the Chantry's word as it is written. They accept and even enforce the ways of the Circle. For good and for ill."

"Bit surprised about that."

"They're a smaller one. Typically, it's filled with those who have managed to turn the system into their complete advantage. Not a bad thing, mind, even if I disagree with some."

"Are they the smallest?"

"No, that would be the Lucrosians. They prioritize the accumulation of wealth, followed by political influence. Merchants, really. I honestly don't know much else about them."

"I see." I finished my ale and got a refill from one of the waitresses. "Is that all?"

"No, one more. The Libertarians." Wynne got a refill as well. "As the name suggests, they desire the Circle to become an autonomous, self-regulating order without Chantry involvement. They're the ones the public hears about, because they're the ones who can become… violent."

"Uldred?"

"Uldred was one, yes. Thankfully, most are more peaceful, even if their sense of timing is off." She sighed heavily. I just wondered why the Chantry 'allowed' such a fraternity to exist. Was it a way to keep potential troublemakers in one place? It seemed stupid. If I were in the Circle, I might've chosen to join Wynne's fraternity to hide. But, then again, I knew very little about Circle things. "The Libertarians proposed a bill of secession. If it gets enough support…"

"The Chantry will let them?"

"No." Wynne's eyes hardened. "It will lead to war. A very bloody and very brutal war. And that is not a war Thedas will survive fighting. We need another Divine, among other things." Wynne suddenly gasped and she looked over at Sigrun. "Oh, Sigrun, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ramble like that."

"No, no, don't mind me!" Sigrun reassured. She took a big gulp of ale and grinned. I smiled guiltily at how I'd been ignoring her too. "I'm just enjoying the not-dirt-tasting-ale. Never had it before. You two talk. I'm _good_."

She had to reassure us a few more times before either of us felt better and, even then, we did our best to include her in the various stories and gossip. It was relaxing and, for a moment, I let myself just… be. Enjoy time with a friend, and not have the weight of everything on my shoulders.

Truly, I was lucky to have friends like these. I'd always be grateful for them.

* * *

Author's note: So, have Sigrun's companion quest (if you do the quest 'Law and Order', btw, you lock yourself out if it). Her past, such as her mother's name and how she joined the Legion, is detailed in _World of Thedas, volume 2._ Sigrun mentioning that elves' ears are 'pointed like an animal' and Velanna's reaction is based on party banter.

Some introspection on Aiden's part, as well as talks on how elves and casteless are viewed. Shale's whereabouts aren't mentioned in Awakening, as far as I am aware, so have an explanation? Edgewall is a location in the tabletop RPG for Dragon Age, and is also the home for Vaea, one of the protagonists in _Knight Errant_.

Next chapter – Interlude, Sigrun


	13. Interlude - Sigrun

Interlude – Sigrun

* * *

Things on the surface are… weird. The bright sun that burns her skin a prickling red. The large sky that stretches over them like a monster's gaping maw. The strange scents that barraged her. The weird animals. Though it was probably the tree things that bother her the most. She's not sure why. They're just weird.

She shakes her head and looks about, taking note of anything interesting. Lots of shiny things, and her fingers twitch with old habits. But she resists because the last thing she needs to do is cause more trouble. Instead, she watches Commander Tabris for a moment, trying to observe him. She picks up a few basic things, but mostly, she notices that he avoids looking at anything _red_. Orange, pink, and other colors? Just fine. Red? His eyes shift quickly away, looking at the next thing.

She wonders why and almost asks, but then her eyes fall on something she's only heard of, from Varlan. A 'spyglass', which lets you see things from very far away. It's also very, very shiny. So it really holds her attention.

"Something catch your eye, Sigrun?" Commander Tabris asks. He looks down at her briefly and then at the stall. "What is it?"

"It's nothing, just the spyglass," she mumbles. Those of the Legion aren't really supposed to have 'belongings', though there are always little bits here and there. Or something. "It's shiny."

"We can buy whatever you want, you know." He walks over to the stall and she panics a little, not sure how else to react. "Anything else?"

"Um…" Her eyes dart around and they fall on the stack of books. "Books?"

"Spyglass and those books. Got it." He talks with the stall owner and purchases them. She really needs to learn to talk better around him. She hadn't quite meant for him to _buy_ them for her. Though, the titles did look interesting. "Here you are." He passes her a cloth bag, filled with her purchases. "There's books in the library as well, by the way. Back at the Keep. Ask someone to show you when we get back?"

"Uh… sure?" She takes the bag automatically, feeling more and more bewildered. Nothing is quite like what she expects on the surface. Her commander casually buying things for her? Apparently getting to read whenever she wants? This is just so weird. Varlan would've loved it. She wonders if she could find a copy of his book in this library. It had been ruined by all the blood, so that's why she took the ring.

She falls silent when they walk again, remembering all her friends. Remembering her team, and how horribly they all died. She had run. She, already dead, had run. It might have been a blessing in disguise, since she had warned the Wardens. But still. She had run. Did she really deserve all of this? She isn't sure.

But recognizing the melancholy, she shakes her head. She's not really the type to mope. She likes being able to laugh and smile. So, she decides to do what she did to Varlan, when they first met. Pester Commander Tabris with questions.

"How old are you?" she asks. Commander Tabris looks down at her weirdly before taking her shoulder to make sure the crowd doesn't drag her away. "Actually, how old are you four senior Wardens?"

"It's strange to be considering 'senior' anything," Commander Tabris half-complains. Still, he closes his eyes, thinking. "Mistress Layla is eighteen, Cleon and Lord Nuada and twenty-one, and I am the eldest at twenty-two."

"And the titles?"

"They started from my 'conditioning' as a servant, but they have become simply affectionate names now. It feels wrong to not call them by that now."

"I see." She looks around and finds another thing to ask about. "Where did the scar on your arm come from?"

"I got it from killing the noble who raped my cousin." He says the words absently, but she wonders if that was why he was with the Wardens. She knows how Orzammar would react to a casteless killing a noble. She imagines the reaction would be similar, based on their earlier talk. "I don't recommend asking about where any other scar came from. The only other one I clearly remember is the one on my neck here." He gestures to his neck and smiles. It's a pained smile, though, and doesn't reach his eyes. "Ostagar. And where Cleon and Lady Elspeth saved my life."

"Don't know the latter name."

"Lord Nuada's twin sister, and the Queen of Fereldan." He leads them out of the market and down an alley, back towards where they had met the Dark Wolf previously. However, before they reach the location, a trio of people approaches them, weapons in hand. It takes her a second to realize they're actually being attacked. "Are you thieves? If you're thieves, then I'll literally just give you some money." Commander Tabris keeps his calm. "No need to beat it out of me."

Their attackers don't seem to care about the free offer, though. Instead, they charge and she has just enough time to set down the bag of 'her' things before one is on her. She notices they fight better than most street-rats should, and so she dispatches the one on her easily, stealing their weapon to stab them in the groin. She notes the ears and size, and decides they're human. She's about to try and learn other details, but she promptly gets distracted by Commander Tabris's 'fight'. By which she means 'smash one's head into a pulp against the ground and nearly decapitating another with a dagger that appeared out of nowhere.'

She had always heard elves were 'lithe' and 'dexterous'. She doesn't know many hardened warriors who could pull that off.

"Well, that was invigorating," she jokes, picking up her bag to make sure no blood got on anything. Commander Tabris nudges the bodies, checking they're all dead. He pauses at the one he dispatches and both winces and smiles. "Didn't expect to get mugged so quickly on the surface! Or whatever that was."

"Clearly, a poorly coordinated attack that wasn't entirely motivated by money," he answers. He crouches down and uses the shirt of one of the attackers to clean off his dagger. "Someone who didn't like my face perhaps."

"Or those conspirators." She wonders why surfacers are in such a hurry to antagonize Wardens. Especially now, considering they had _just_ dealt with a Blight. But, then again, she remembers how Orzammar had given Wardens a runaround to get help from them. Kardol had told her about it. "So, have you always been that strong?" She nods at the smashed skull one. "Is it a Warden thing?"

"No, I haven't and…" His expression becomes sad again. "Sadly, it's not exactly a Warden thing either."

"Why sadly? It was cool?" The only answer is that pained smile that doesn't reach his eyes, so she changes the subject. "Where did the dagger come form?"

"It was my mother's."

"I meant 'where did you hide it'?"

"Oh." His smile becomes sheepish, reaching his eyes again. "My boot."

"Isn't that painful?"

"No, actually. Leliana and Zevran helped me… oh, hello there." Commander Tabris stands as guards rush over. She rolls her eyes at them. Guards were _always_ late. "I take it someone reported the noise?"

"Yes, we were told there was a fight here," one, the leader, explains. An older human, with skin darker than hers, but lighter than Commander Tabris's and pale hair. "You are?"

"Aiden Tabris, Commander of the Grey. We were attacked and, after giving a chance for surrender, we retaliated," Commander Tabris explains. His words are crisp and clear, as if there is no doubt the guards will listen. She notices their eyes dart to his ears. "Apologies for the mess."

The guards hesitate a while longer, but, to her surprise, they bow in obvious respect. "Of course, Warden-Commander. Do you need any assistance?"

"No, not at this point. I intend to finish up my business quickly and leaving, though. Can you handle the rest?"

"Of course, ser." The guards begin cleaning up without another word and she stares. She stares so long that she has to jog to catch up with Commander Tabris because he had just walked away, still perfectly confident.

Surfacers are weird.

* * *

Author's notes: The spyglass is technically a plot gift for Sigrun, with a conversation, but we're skipping the conversation. There's a similar thing for the books, though that's back at the Keep. Awakening takes place six months after the end of Origins, and given that in _Saga_ , Origins lasts a bit over nine months, all of the Wardens have aged up a year. And a couple of callbacks to early _Saga of the Wardens_ chapters.

Next Chapter – Nuada at the Keep


	14. Chapter 11) Scars

Chapter 11) Scars

 _Nuada POV_

* * *

 _He coughs and, for a second, he wonders if he's coughing up blood. Thankfully, though, it's not the case. He has too much work to do. No matter how little he slept, ate… whatever… there's always work to be done._

 _He sighs and rubs at his tired eyes and lets himself relax slightly. He's in his own study, so he has the luxury. As soon as he steps out, he'll have to be the 'perfect' Cousland. Even if that reputation is working against them, thanks to political nonsense, he has to keep it up for his people. Even if he's not suited for this, and he really isn't. Elspeth was supposed to inherit Highever. He was supposed to just be a general in the army. Nuada…well, Nuada was a Warden, like expected, but he was supposed to be a Warden who wasn't tied up in politics. Yet, here they were. Elspeth was queen, Nuada was Teyrn of Gwaren and a bunch of other things, and he was the Teyrn of Highever._

 _So much went wrong. So many people died when they shouldn't have. Father… Mother… Orianna… Rory… Nan… Aldous… Mother Mallol… so many. So many gone. So many dead. And he can't mourn. Not really. There's too much to do, and…_

 _"Papa?" Oren pokes his head in, and so, he smiles and throws all the thoughts to the side. "Papa, can we play?" Oren asks. "Please?"_

 _"Let me find a stopping point," he answers. He can't deny his son much. He had spent too long thinking his son dead to avoid spoiling him. "Be patient."_

 _"Okay. Love you."_

 _"I love you too."_

* * *

"So, this is where the guards are being temporarily diverted to," I explained to Layla, showing her the piece of paper as we walked down the hall. Cleon had originally been with us, but we got word that the paths below were clear, so he took Nathaniel and Velanna to determine if there was a good place to set up a blockade against further darkspawn attacks. "Once we get enough granite and silverite, we'll put them back to defending the farmlands."

"Do we truly have to divert them though?" Layla asked, frowning. She took the paper from me to skim over it. "Are we really that low on soldiers?"

"Amaranthine's soldiers were thinned out by both attacks on Highever, the Civil War, the Blight, and the recent attack, sadly."

"Can we request more soldiers?"

"You did that this morning."

"Oh, I forgot." Layla sighed, drooping a little. I rubbed her back, knowing she'd rather be working in the infirmary with Anders than dealing with this. "I do not like leaving the farmers without protection. Do we need guards for the transporting?"

"Bandits."

"Damn." She scowled and passed the paper back to me before gesturing a bit with her hands. Little bits of flame burst from her fingertips, and I was once again reminded I was in love with someone who could very easily kill me with a thought. Of course, that was part of her charm. "Why are there bandits? There was a Blight!"

"People lost a lot. They turned to banditry in order to try and make ends meet. You judged someone who did that, right?"

"I… oh." She threw up her hands and a harmless bunch of sparkles flew up with them. Some servants squeaked, but I was just… charmed. "Reconstruction sucks."

"That's why the stories stop with 'happily ever after'." I took her hand and kissed it, and she smiled back. "I can see about poking some of the local nobles to lend us their soldiers, though, and I have a feeling that once this conspiracy is over, we are going to have more soldiers to work with."

"We will?" She frowned again before gasping. "Oh, that is right. They will be Oathbreakers."

"Well, we'd have to go through legal things to _officially_ call them that. That's why Loghain isn't officially one." Becoming a Warden meant there was no point to it, and the designation of 'traitor' screwed Anora enough. "We might make the ringleader officially one as a warning. But either their holdings will go to you, or their heirs will be tripping over themselves to make it up to you."

"I see." She smiled slightly, eyes warm. "This is why I wanted you helping me sooner, you know."

"I… didn't want to undermine your authority?" I looked away, but she moved in front of me. "We went over this."

"I know." She reached up to cup my face and got on her tiptoes to kiss me. "I wish we had talked about it sooner."

"We both anticipated more time before weird things happened."

"That is very true."

"Warden-Arlessa Amell! Warden-Teryn Cousland!" A messenger jog up, looking a little frazzled. I spared a moment's thought of being amused by the titles before focusing on them. "Sorry to bother, my lady, my lord," they continued, saluting. "But there is a visitor for Warden Oghren? A very… argumentative visitor."

"Is that so?" Layla asked. She frowned for a moment and then looked at me. "I have to meet Varel…"

"I can handle placating a visitor," I reassured her. She smiled brightly and turned to the messenger. "Oghren is training soldiers in the back. If he's not there, check his room or the cellar." The messenger saluted again and dashed off. "Whoever it is, they must be quite the visitor to cause this much fuss."

"I wonder who it is." Layla sighed, frowning worriedly. "Also, Oghren's been drinking a lot more. I know he's a bit of a drunk, but…"

"He has, but let's wait for him." I kissed her cheek and she nodded. We knew we couldn't force Oghren to tell us anything. "Let's get to work, love."

"Of course." She smiled teasingly. "Don't forget the word for 'kitten' now."

"Andraste's blood, Layla!" I scowled, but she laughed and laughed. "Well, if that's how you'll be…!" I picked her up and grinned as she continued laughing. "I'll get you back later."

"I look forward to it."

We teased each other a little longer, longer than necessary really, before she went to go about her day's work with Seneschal Varel, and I went to deal with Oghren's visitor. However, I was surprised to realize I knew who it was: Felsi.

"Where is he? I know he's here!" she demanded as soon as she saw me. Her eyes flashed with anger and hurt, and her entire demeanor screamed 'I will cut you'. I couldn't blame the servants one bit for being a little frazzled. "Cough him up, Warden!"

"It is a pleasure to see you again too, Miss Felsi," I replied, defaulting to cheerful politeness. Sadly, it seemed to make her angrier. "I take it you're here for Oghren?"

"You're not going to pull the moss over my eyes! Tell him to get his hairy ass down here!"

"I've a servant getting him now. He's training the soldiers out back." I smiled as charmingly as I could and she calmed down slightly. "I fear you made the servants a little nervous, so they went to one of us first to make sure all was safe."

"…Suppose I shouldn't have taken my anger on them." The anger slowly faded, making the hurt far more prominent. "Still, though, that dwarf…!" Though the anger certainly made a comeback! "Honestly, he…!"

"Hang onto your beard, woman." Thankfully for my barely-there sanity, Oghren walked in, grinning and acting confident. However, it really was just an act. He gait 'swung' too much, and his smirk was a little too wide. "Is this a conjugal visit?" he joked, snickering. "Need Oghren to-"

"Don't lay a finger on me," Felsi instantly snapped. She was right back to glaring and I took a step back, making sure I was not in the way. "You've done a lot of stupid things on a whim, but joining the Wardens-!"

"Didn't you say it would be hot?"

"We were roleplaying!" Quite a few passing servants covered their ears at that point. I didn't blame them one bit. "Oghren-!"

"Look, I didn't sign up on a whim, all right? Aiden wouldn't let me. He's not like most Warden recruiters who trick and hide. He's open." Oghren shrugged and dropped the cocky act. "Besides, you kicked me out. For good reasons."

"You were just looking for an excuse!"

"You kept trying to make me into something I'm not." Some pain threaded through Oghren's words there. "I can't play house like you want me to." I heard the silent 'like I wish I could' added on the end. "I'm only good at one thing, Fels, and it's killing."

"You had a good thing in the army, though!" Felsi's voice cracked, holding back tears. "They respected you!" She looked away sharply. Oghren reached out briefly, but then dropped his hand. "Fine, though. Fine. If this is what you want, the baby and I will just get by without you."

She left then, and I found myself very confused. Baby. She had said 'baby'. But it had been six months… though, then again, it was possible dwarven pregnancies didn't last nine months. I knew humans did, but…

"Gah, sod it!" Oghren growled, jolting me from my thoughts. He tried to storm away, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Nuada."

"I won't force you into anything, and I won't force you to talk about anything," I murmured. I wondered if this was why he'd been drinking more than usual. "But let me say something, please." I waited for his nod before continuing. "Wardens are allowed to keep families. You can't be the typical father, but you couldn't be that anyway. That's why you came to us."

"I couldn't settle down again. I did once. You… well, you weren't there to see the fall out with Branka." That was true, but I had heard. I knew Aiden and Cleon continued to have nightmares about it. "Felsi will get by. The nugget, though…"

"As I said, Wardens are allowed to keep families. You can visit, and write." I thought about other things that could be helpful and came up on one. "Oh, you do get a stipend, or will. That's one of the budget things I'm working on."

"That'll… that'll help them a lot." Oghren laughed and patted my hand, still on his shoulder. "And hey, the little one will grow up thinking Daddy's a great hero."

"You are one, Oghren. You might not have traveled with us long, but in that time, you helped us a great deal. Without you or Sten, the darkspawn would've overrun the gates of Denerim, and we wouldn't have gotten the opening we needed to kill the Archdemon."

"Oh, you… get going before I get misty eyed." Oghren rubbed roughly at his eyes, so clearly, he already was. "Go on. I'll be fine."

"Try not to drink so much after today. We've been worried." I patted him on the shoulder and almost left him to it. But then another idea came to me. "Actually, what do you say to a spar?"

As much as I would love to just 'fix' everything, there were some things you just couldn't help with. This was one of them. But Oghren would make it work for him, hopefully. Even if he couldn't, at this point, all I could do was try to support him, as much as I could.

* * *

After sparring with Oghren to help him bleed off frustration, I went to double-check that the group below was doing well. The soldiers by the door reassured me that no one had sent for help, yet, so I decided to check how repairing the walls was coming along. However, a different messenger informed me that there was another visitor, one that they didn't want to leave 'alone' for long, and Layla was busy. I was confused as to why they didn't want the visitor to be alone until I saw it was Loghain. Then it all made sense.

"I was wondering who they'd get to be my watcher," Loghain joked, leaning against one of the pillars. It kept him in shadow, and let him avoid all the people glaring at him. "Thank you for the maps, by the way."

"I'm glad they reached you safely," I replied, feeling a little awkward. I'd sent him maps for his birthday, partly out of habit, but now, I didn't know what to say. "What brings you to the Vigil? Did the Wardens assign you here?"

"No, sadly, I have been ordered, by the First Warden, to go to Montsimmard." He waited for me to process the information, and I had to struggle to not laugh. Montsimmard was the headquarters for the Orlesian Grey Wardens, and also home to a Circle of Magi. "You can laugh. I can appreciate the irony too." He rolled his eyes when I did break out into snickers. "Here I thought darkspawn blood would be the last poison I'd have to swallow. Maric would be laughing his head off."

"He would." I continued snickering for a little longer before sadness took over and killed whatever cheer I'd had. I wished we knew just how he'd died. He just… went to Antiva, and vanished. He probably got caught in a storm or something. "I miss him."

"I do too. Even now, I wish he'd just walk on in, wondering what was going on."

"It would be a bit awkward, now."

"It would. But I'd suffer it, if it meant seeing him again."

"I suppose you would." Everyone had always talked of the strong bond between Loghain and Uncle Maric. It didn't surprise me one bit that he'd suffer any sort of anger if it meant Uncle Maric was still alive. "Speaking of seeing people, did you see Anora?"

"I did, actually. She offered to watch me until Layla was done, but the messenger didn't seem comfortable with that." Loghain looked down briefly and I just shrugged. There wasn't anything to say to that. We both knew why that was. "She's doing well. I'm glad."

"Fergus tries to be a good husband."

"He better."

"Oh, Loghain…" Layla, thankfully, walked up then, trying to clean her hands. She had ink blotches on them, showing that a pen had exploded on her. "I had not expected you," she greeted, nodding politely. "I don't suppose you came with extra soldiers?"

"Sadly, no, but I wish I had," Loghain replied, bowing respectfully. "I just thought I'd make sure no one was giving you all too much trouble."

"Aside from some conspirators and weird darkspawn, no, we seem to be doing well." She frowned when Loghain chuckled. "Might I ask what has you amused?"

"I had conspirators just as quickly after the Rebellion. It's amazing how quickly people forget that you're a war hero who can kill them as easily as one carves a cake."

"Well, I am pleased to be normal, for once." Layla's voice was so dry that Loghain and I had to laugh. "Though, I am gladdened to see you. I had a question for you." Layla bit her lip and hesitated before continuing. "I know you hate Orlais, but…"

"Hate doesn't describe it. At least, I don't think so." Loghain's words became clipped from raw pain, and I barely resisted the urge to facepalm. I should've warned her to not directly ask about that. "Growing up, I saw painted, masked lords beat an old farmer to death with riding crops. To this day, I don't know why. Maybe they were bored." Old anger crept into his voice and Layla looked at me worriedly. I simply smiled, knowing better than to try and stop." I saw good, sensible men fighting armored chevaliers with nothing. No weapons, no armies, not even a hope of success. All just to see the occupation end." He started gesturing sharply. Layla winced and I kissed the top of her head to try and reassure her. "They snatched up my mabari, my best friend, because she was pretty and they felt entitled to her. Bred her with whatever lap dog they wanted to give her coat to until she was used up. They pushed her out of a wagon like a sack of rotten vegetables, thankfully near where we were. I held her as she died. Then, weeks, months later, I was held down, bleeding from a leg wound, as their soldiers raped and murdered my mother, all because my father didn't want to give up his home." Layla flinched and I patted her shoulder. I knew from experience that this would be over soon. "Is all that hate? No, Hate is too tame of a word. So is 'loathe'." He paused and visibly got his emotions under control, bowing his head apologetically. "But I can admit it overcame my reason. I can admit it led me to a warped 'I did what I had to' mentality."

"I was… more using that for a lead in, but I see I spoke too lightly of it. I am sorry." Layla also bowed her head, blushing faintly. I took her hand and smiled encouragingly. "It was truly a question about the Alienage."

"Of course." Loghain took a couple of breaths to help him calm down further and then nodded. "What is the question?"

"Why was it…?" Her voice cracked, but she coughed to clear it. "Why is it that you thought it was better for elves to live as slaves than die free, when you nearly let Fereldan die for fear of Orlais?"

"…I can admit to being hypocritical, Layla. For further proof, you could also bring up how I told Cailan that we had to attend to reality, and then deluded myself into believe there was no threat with the Blight." Loghain smiled bitterly. "I am afraid there isn't much of a better answer, save the obvious."

"I see." Layla frowned and brushed her hair behind her ear with her free hand. "I never realized how… in the Circle, I did not see things like this. Though, perhaps I was blind to them, or perhaps it was just where I grew up. Kinloch Hold is infamous for how tolerant it is."

"I've heard that as well. Though, I don't think I've seen an example."

"If Anders had been from Kirkwall, he would have been killed for all his escape attempts. Knight-Commander Meredith is known for her harshness. Though, Kirkwall apparently has a lot of trouble with abominations and blood mages."

"Like Uldred, but more… regular?"

"That is what I heard."

The two of them began talking, the subject slowly turning away from Orlais and elves, and I almost stepped away, noticing Cleon entering the room, triumphantly covered in blood and mud. However, as I did, a servant swung by to offer Layla some wine. I vaguely paid attention to their words, focusing more on how they kept fidgeting, eyes darting around like a skittish kitten. However, I did catch the vintage they claimed the wine was and frowned, because the wine was far too dark for that. So, with a shrug, I stole the wine from Layla and took a sip myself.

It was far too bitter for the vintage they said. It was honestly too bitter for typical wine. That was about all I could think before the paralysis hit and I realized with horror what just happened. The wine had been poisoned and, worse, it was the same poison that nearly killed me, back in Antiva.

I collapsed, the wine glass shattering on the ground, and desperately tried to not choke on the wine as everything locked up. My lungs burned. My eyes watered. Terror flooded my mind, covering up my ears and ability to reason. Someone caught me before I hit the groun. Someone shouted for Anders to 'help'. Someone chased, pounding footsteps leading away. I struggled to catch what bits I could, to help me remember that I was not alone in Antiva with only an assassin. I was surrounded by people who could help, who were helping. I would be fine, no matter what the terror tried to scream. I hoped.

Thankfully, that hope was answered. After an eternity-filled moment, I could breath again. I immediately started coughing, gasping for air and spitting up the wine. My eyes still burned, but I held back tears to simply focus on breathing. The inside of my mouth was tingling, borderline numb. My shirt was ruined from the spilt wine. My hand was sticky.

Other things slowly began filtering through. People shouting, people running… my focus centered on someone stroking my hair, and I finally looked u to see Cleon had been the one to catch me. He also cradled me against his chest, and smiled when he saw me looking. He brought up a hand and signed, 'I take it the wine did not agree with you.'

"Yeah, it didn't," I croaked, coughing more. It took a couple of tries to get my hands to make the signs, lingering paralysis and my own shakiness, and then I looked to see a relieved Anders and a teary Layla also hovering over me. They had been the ones to save me. So, I made sure to smile at them. "I don't recommend that wine, by the way. I highly don't recommend it."

This was not what I had planned for the day, not one bit.

* * *

After my poisoning, I was ordered, by both Layla and Anders, to take the day off. They left Anora as my 'make sure he actually listens' watcher, because everyone else had things to do. Cleon had to deal with arranging people to work on below, because they had apparently found an actual mechanism that would seal off this section of the Deep Roads. Layla had to reassure people and return to administrative things. Oghren and Anders were checking all the food and drink in the entire Keep to make sure nothing else was poisoned. Loghain had chased down the servant and was in the middle of interrogation, and Nathaniel was patrolling to make sure there wasn't assassin-assassins running about.

"Well, the people are firmly on your side, after such a heinous and messy attempt on Layla's life," Anora explained, fixing some tea for me to help me get the bitter taste out of my mouth. "Between that, whatever information Aiden finds, and the information Father is getting out of the servant, we should be able to deal with this fairly quickly. I do still expect some sort of protest, though."

"The poison certainly explains why they were confident enough to form a conspiracy," I replied, trying to not fidget. I hated being laid up, but if I showed any sort of discomfort, Anora would be fussing over my blankets and pillows again. "Ah, thank you." I took the teacup from her and sipped it. It was a lighter tea and just what I needed. "Thanks for this, Anora."

"Of course." She sat down on the bed beside me and proceeded to fuss with the pillows. She'd noticed my discomfort, damn it. "Is it steeped enough?"

"It's exactly what I need." It really was, and with it, embarrassment began creeping in. Exasperation joined it. "I can't believe we didn't think they'd resort to poison." Once again, our arrogance almost cost us. Maker's balls, you'd think we'd be more aware. "Though, it's not really a 'Fereldan' thing to do. Orlais and Antiva favor the 'poison in the wine' trick. Fereldans prefer just stabbing."

"Must you joke?"

"It's not the first time I've been poisoned, Anora."

"It's not the first time you've gotten hurt protecting someone, but that doesn't mean it's any easier to watch." She gently touched my cheek, by one of the scars, the one I'd gotten protecting Cailan. "…I wish he were here. He'd have everyone laughing."

"I miss Cailan too." Whenever any of us were injured or under the weather, he'd done his best to cheer us up. "Though, in my defense…"

"Ah, I don't want to hear it." Someone knocked on the door and Anora turned towards it. "Come in?"

"Oh, good, he did not somehow trick you into leaving." Layla stepped in, smiling slightly. "I had worried he would," she teased, smiling slightly. She looked drained, though, so the smile was weak. "I am not sure why, though."

"No, he's been very good," Anora replied, standing. I chose against responding and just sipped more of my tea. "Are you here on break?"

"Actually, Varel said I was done for the day." Layla shrugged, though, her smile becoming bitter. "Though, truthfully, I am not sure if I truly am 'done', or if he was just tired of…"

"Varel would make sure you were done. That's how he is." Anora smiled reassuringly. "Though, if you would like, I can double-check your work?"

"I would _greatly_ appreciate it."

"Of course." Anora patted Layla on the back as she exited and shut the door behind her.

Layla just looked at me, hesitating over something. At first, I waited for her to say something, continuing to drink my tea, but the second I finished, and set it to the side, Layla lunged and crawled into bed with me, curling up against my chest with her ear right over my heart. That was when I realized the obvious. She had just been waiting for me to finish my tea, so that she didn't make me spill any on our blankets.

"You know; you could have said something," I teased, hugging her tightly. She shrugged, still just listening to my heartbeat. "I'm not used to people wanting to cuddle me after a poisoning."

"You and Elspeth didn't?" she asked softly. She shifted so that her hip didn't dig uncomfortably into my abdomen, but kept her face against my chest. "In the Circle, whenever one of the Templars had to kill an abomination or something, we would all curl up together. If it were evening, we would drag the pillows and blankets off the beds and make a nest. Otherwise, we would just… do something like this."

"It was too dangerous. We couldn't show that sort of weakness, nor did we want two easy targets in one location." I kissed the top of her head and slowly relaxed, noticing something. "You're wearing perfume."

"Anders found me some in the market, when he was helping Dworkin make more bombs. Is it a nice scent?"

"Well, I like it. Do you?" I smiled when she nodded. "Then, you should… wait, hold on, did you just say bombs?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, you did not really encounter Dworkin, did you?" She looked up and smiled mischievously at me. "He is Voldrik's brother, and makes explosives from lyrium sand. They are quite powerful. A lot of the interior damage was due to him setting off one."

"I can't imagine the Qunari liking that." Though, I did wonder how Dworkin's explosives compared to the Qunari's gaatlok. I had never seen it used before, but from Sten's descriptions, I knew it was more powerful than our black powder. "Anders helped him?"

"Anders is a talented alchemist, though he normally just focuses on healing potions. He's going to work on different antidotes, just in…" Her smile fell and she went back to listening to my heartbeat.

"So, as I was trying to explain to Anora…" I absently undid her braid to play with the strands. I loved playing with her hair. "I didn't think the wine was poisoned. I'd thought it was simply a stronger wine than the servant claimed, intent on getting you drunk so that you made a fool of yourself."

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Being poisoned sucks. If I had thought poison, I would've just had someone check for it."

"I see." Absently, she pushed my sleeve to trace the scale-like scars on my arm. They were a visual reminder of how I was a Reaver, along with the sharper than normal canine teeth and the silver eye. "For a second there, I was back in the Temple. I was on the mountaintop, watching you suddenly collapse. It did not help that the wine was red. Though, at least you were not rattling off facts and tactics while dying. I had wanted to hit you for that."

"Well, that time, I could actually breathe." I grimaced at the words. I'd meant them to be a joke, but… "I'm sorry. That wasn't…"

"You know; back then, you asked me how we fought." She said the words dully, and I winced when I remembered that. "You were in so much pain that you could not even remember I was a mage. Though, you did, somehow, remember how to fight the dragon."

"It was more of the immediate concern?"

"Did you even remember who Alistair and I were? I am guessing you remembered Elspeth, but…"

"I…" I fell silent, wondering how to explain, and tilted her head up so that I could look her in the eyes. "I remembered you were both people I trusted and loved beyond anything. That didn't require anything to remember. It just was. Other than that, though, yes, I was in a lot of pain. I knew there was danger, and a dragon, and I was always taught that if I die, I would die doing my duty. I would die protecting people. So, I used what sense I had to try and say whatever information could keep you alive."

"That was while you were dying, you know." She sighed gustily, and I could only smile ruefully. She and I both knew that if we were in a situation like that again, I would probably do the exact same thing. Some habits were too ingrained to break. "I never want to have to jolt your heart again."

"Well, that'll be hard." It was time to properly joke and change the subject. "You do so every time you smile."

"Nuada!" She scowled, but softened when I kissed her. "Be serious."

"I am always _perfectly_ serious." I rested my forehead against hers. "I love you, and I am very sorry about earlier. It didn't occur to me, at all, that the wine was poisoned. I promise you that."

"I believe you." Once again, someone knocked on the door. "Come in." Layla twisted towards it, but she didn't leave my arms, not even when a servant opened the door for Cleon. "Oh, hello, there."

'Wanted to make sure you two were not in the middle of something,' he signed with a teasing grin. I playfully scowled, and Layla blushed all the way to her ears. 'I also wanted to check in. You okay?'

"I'll be fine," I reassured, bringing up my hands to sign. Layla curled up more against my chest. "Thank you for catching me, Cleon."

'Glad I was close enough.' He hooked his foot around the leg of my desk chair and dragged it over. 'Also, warning, the others are going to come by. Anders wants to give you another check, and Nathaniel mentioned something about making sure you had funny stories because you _hate_ being laid up.' He signed the word 'hate' three times and I smiled. I was touched Nathaniel remembered that. 'So, sadly, unless you want to pretend to be asleep…'

"No, I'll pay my dues for scaring people."

'Good.' Cleon leaned over and patted Layla on the back. She smiled back. 'Anyway, mind explaining why you drank poison?'

"Maker's breath, I didn't think it was poisoned!"

I had to go through the explanation quite a few times, because everyone thought it was very 'me' to purposely drink poison to protect someone. Of course, I couldn't blame them given the other things I'd done in the past, though I did pretend to get annoyed. Most saw through it, though, just as they saw through my attempts to stay awake. Eventually, they left me to nod off and Layla stayed to run her hands through my hair and, likely, to reassure herself that I was, in fact, breathing.

Overall, it was one of the better poisoning experiences I'd had. I did hope I wouldn't have another, though.

* * *

Author's note: Decided to go with the poisoning to give the conspirators some form of sense. Otherwise, they just send assassins after you. Loghain's ramble about Orlais comes from his in-game party conversations, while maps are his 'preferred' gifts. Some callbacks here, too. Oghren's companion quest here is technically two parts, the encounter with Felsi and then the talk about how he could write letters to his family after you get him to 76+ approval. Which for some reason resets between Origins and Awakening, but the diminished returns from giving gifts is still there. I chose to string them both together because I doubted the approval would completely reset if this wasn't a game.

Next Chapter – Cleon in the Keep


	15. Chapter 12) Ties that Bind

Chapter 12) Ties that Bind

 _Cleon POV_

* * *

 _It is coming together slowly. There's arguments. Bickering. Compromising. Then there is getting along with their shemlen neighbors, who look on them with suspicion. There is a lot to work through, and even more to build. Still, she can't help but be excited. They have a home, and it's all thanks to Cleon. Cleon and his friends._

 _"I am a friend of the Hero of Fereldan, yes," she explains to a farmer. She cannot remember his name, Den-something, but knows he breeds horses. "Might I ask why that would matter?"_

 _"Might be easier for you to settle in if you poke the others with that," the horsemaster explains. He has a kind smile. "Though everyone is a bit leery of magic users."_

 _"I've noticed the Veil has been weakened here." She wonders what happened, but knows it is best to wait a bit before asking. "I assure you, though, that we are very strict in teaching our magic."_

 _"Yeah, but everyone remembers the undead." The horsemaster shudders and her heart keens in sympathy. "But if anyone tries to give you trouble, drop his name. Redcliffe owes everything to the Wardens."_

 _"I will. Ma serranas."_

 _Their talk turns to other things. He admired the beauty of the hallas and, while they couldn't possibly 'give' any away for the moment, she does tell him about the harts, which some Dalish would ride. It's a fun exchange and not one she thought she would ever have with a shemlen._

 _The world is filled with endless opportunities. She wishes Zathrian could see it. But she is the Keeper, now, so she will do her duty._

* * *

Velanna was delighted by the gardens Layla had set up. Whenever she wasn't scowling at people passing by, she was outside, tending to the plants and using her magic to accelerate their growth. Thanks to that, despite the destruction and the short time, the gardens were a spot of greenery and bright colors. It was relaxing just to sit in, particularly when I could 'talk' to someone of my heritage for the first time in a while. It was fun to discuss Dalish history with someone else who knew it. I used to discuss it with Merrill, after a punishment from Hahren Paivel, so I had particularly fond memories with it all.

 _'Sabrae was founded by the noble, Sabrae, and two Emerald Knights, yes?'_ Velanna wrote. She didn't know the sign language well yet, so we had a lot of paper and ink. _'A lot of Clans were founded that way, yes? But who were the knights again? I know one was Marethari, your ancestor, but…'_

 _'Talas, Marethari's ancestor,_ ' I wrote back, smiling. I'd been particularly excited when I learned that, and had happily badgered Marethari about it. _'I wonder what they felt, though. After all, the Emerald Knights'_ Velanna stole the pen from me and I rolled my eyes and picked up one of the spares. _'We have more than one pen, you know.'_

 _'Hush.'_ She covered what she had been writing to emphasize the word before going back to her ramble on the Emerald Knights. I wasn't surprised. Shemlen might view them as savages, but to the Dalish, they were heroes. _'The Emerald Knights were the protectors of the Dales, riding into battle on halla, alongside their wolves, the Knight's Guardians!'_

 _'Reminds me of Fereldans and their mabari.'_ I made sure to keep up my smile, but the whole 'charging along side' made me remember Ostagar. A lot of mabari died then. I wondered how many Knight's Guardians died during the Fall of the Dales.

Velanna, thankfully, didn't notice. _'Most fell in the defense of the Dales, though. I wonder if they all received their proper burials in Din'an Hanin.'_

 _'The last ones to fall might not have.'_ I knew the stories. Din'an Hanin, the final resting place of the Emerald Knights. Assuming the shemlen didn't destroy it or appropriate it for something, it had to be abandoned and ruined. In either case, you'd need an army to try and recover anything from it. _'Though, hopefully, the shemlen gave them proper burials by their standards.'_

 _'How do the shemlen deal with their dead again?'_

 _'They burn them. Well, most do. Nuada mentioned that other places might do it differently. Nev something.'_

 _'Why would they waste that life?'_

 _'Well, demons can't inhabit ashes?'_ I grinned at her scowl. _'Or we can go with the whole shemlen are weird thing. I still go with that explanation, sometimes.'_

 _'Shemlen are weird and thieves, though the ones around here aren't so bad. Maybe.'_ Velanna paused, tapping the page with her pen. I stretched out my legs to keep them from going numb. _'You are like them.'_ She flushed when I gave her a weird look. _'Not the shemlen. The Emerald Knights.'_

It took a moment to write down a reply. _'How so?'_

 _'You have always been the pride of Sabrae, but not look at you. You are a_ _hero_ _, Cleon. The Hero of Fereldan, and a hero to the Dalish.'_ The words reminded me of those songs Leliana jokingly tried to make. At least, I hoped she'd been joking. _'You saved the world.'_

 _'With help.'_ My heart panged when I thought of why I survived to hear such weird praises. There had been absolutely nothing on Morrigan since Nuada saw her, as a cat, waiting to make sure I'd woken up. _'Besides, I am just a Dalish and a Warden, same as you. I'm no one special.'_

Velanna gave me a slightly disbelieving smile, but she did change the subject. _'So I have been curious on something.'_ She hesitated before writing, _'Merril'_ I sharply shook my head. I would not talk about it. I couldn't. _'Your vallaslin.'_

 _'What about my vallaslin?'_ I reached up to them, suddenly worried that they'd been altered somehow. Fenarel hadn't mentioned anything, but killing the Archdemon… though he could have just been polite. So, I studied Velanna's to see if hers were different. She wore somewhat unique vallaslin, one used mostly in her Clan, but it didn't look any different.

While I studied, Velanna wrote. _'I have always wondered why you chose a simple version of Mythal's. The branches under that stretch from below the eyes to the temple. Considering how you always were careful to honor Andruil…'_

 _'Mythal is the Protector, and I wished to protect the Dalish.'_ Though, it seemed like Mythal had wished for me to protect the world, not just the Dalish. _'That was all. If you are wondering why it is the simple version, Marethari chose that.'_ I would've endured the complex version, with the branches all across my forehead as well, but she had whispered that she didn't want to call too my attention to the Creators, for fear of them stealing me away. _'Why?'_

 _'I have always been curious, is all.'_ She shrugged, glancing away awkwardly. I frowned a bit, not really associating 'shyness' with her. _'Do you remember the story of the dog and Fen'harel?'_

 _'Of course.'_ It had been one of Merrill's favorites. _'Why?'_

 _'How did it go again?'_

We spent the rest of the morning recalling old stories and bits of history amidst the garden. It was close enough to the old days, before the Blight, that it soothed my aching heart. I missed my Clan, my family, dearly. I hoped… to see them again. Someday.

* * *

In the afternoon, I handled paperwork for the Wardens while Nuada… well, Nuada was 'resting', which apparently translated to him working on budgets and the like in bed while I borrowed his desk. Both of us complained frequently of idiotic things, like people who thought Wardens should provide some of their own for some no-name noble's honor guard and people who thought a 'crystal chandelier', whatever that was, was an important part of the budget. I remained amused, though, by the fact that Nuada kept himself to one side, making room for Layla even when he was in bed alone. It was adorable, really.

'Are you sure you should be working at all?' I asked during a break. I had to pause in between signs to roll my wrists. They ached, and I had angry red marks from the pen. 'You are supposed to be resting.'

'I am perfectly fine,' Nuada replied. His signs were easy, even a bit lazy, and he was perfectly relaxed. I was inclined to believe him, except the whole 'Layla told him to rest' thing. 'Layla just wanted me to rest longer because of mental trauma, and I agreed because I just cannot win against her pouts.'

'Of course.' Still, I frowned. 'Mental trauma?'

'It isn't the first time I've been poisoned. It's not even the twentieth.' Nuada made a face and his signs became lighter, like he was telling a joke. 'A diplomat's son is a popular target for assassins, particularly when they're young.'

'Some days, I wonder why you are as sane as you are.' I smiled slightly when he laughed, bending forward slightly from the force. But I thought again about the terror in his eyes, back then. I had never seen him so scared, not even when we were dealing with the Archdemon. Then I remembered something, from so long ago that I half-felt like it had happened to a different person. Back when Highever fell, he had… 'You once snapped at Layla for paralyzing enemies.' And he had been very descriptive about it.

'I remember that more as an argument against why it is any better than killing, but I suppose my own experiences did bleed in there.' He straightened and looked back at me. 'Have I not told…?' He paused in signing, frowning contemplatively. 'No, I suppose I haven't told any of you. Layla only knows because of the Sloth demon.'

'About what?'

'When I was a child, an Antivan Crow masqueraded as a nurse and almost killed me through careful doses of poison. The final dose was a paralytic poison, much like the one here.' He signed the words lightly, but the dark look in his eyes screamed how traumatizing the incident was. 'While I slowly suffocated, she braided my hair and hovered knives over me, to emphasize how helpless I was.' He paused and closed his eyes briefly before continuing. 'I don't remember how I was saved, actually. I just remember being certain of death, and then suddenly I could breath again and Mother was cradling me.'

'Hovering knives?'

'She was a sadist.' He smiled bitterly. 'She couldn't kill me outright because of the employer's orders, but she wanted me to suffer. It took a while to recover, because she had been poisoning me for so long.'

'What happened after you recovered?'

'I attended social events like nothing had ever happened, of course. That was what was expected.' He signed them easily, but I genuinely wondered if this incident was why his old defense mechanism had been to deny and faking that everything was okay. But I couldn't ask. I doubted he could give an answer anyway. 'So, anyway, that's why Layla wants me to rest a bit more. She's fussing and spoiling me.'

'Think of it as penance for scaring us.' Though, that all did remind me of something. Something my conscience hated and annoyed the rest of me.

'Cleon, you okay?' Nuada frowned when I nodded. 'Are you… come in.' It took me a second to realize someone must have knocked on the door. 'Oh, hey, Nathaniel.' I twisted in my chair to see Nathaniel poke his head in. 'You done patrolling?'

'I am,' Nathaniel confirmed. 'All clear, thankfully. It's almost too quiet for comfort.' He actually signed the words, though they were clumsy. I had to look to Nuada for a couple, but it still made me smile. 'Though I'd check in and make sure you were listening to your wife.'

'Wife?' I repeated, glancing at Nuada. Nuada frowned, confused. 'He used 'wife'.'

'Oh, he said lover, so it was just a wrong sign,' Nuada explained. Still, he began blushing and I had to grin. 'Nathaniel, wrong sign there.'

'Oops,' Nathaniel apologized, smiling sheepishly. Still, he also grinned when Nuada's blush became more apparent. 'Still, maybe the sign was accidentally right?'

'Nathaniel!' Nuada was just getting redder and redder, and Nathaniel laughed and laughed. 'If you're here just to tease…'

'Actually, he can watch you because I just realized I forgot something I need to do,' I interrupted, waving to make sure I had his attention. I didn't really want to do this, but it was going to bother me if I didn't. 'I'll be back after I deal with it.'

Nuada gave me a worried look, but did smile and nod when I smiled reassuringly. So, I left Nathaniel and Nuada to bond again, and started hunting for Loghain. I didn't really want to and I even whispered a couple of prayers to the Creators that he'd already left. But it seemed like Fen'harel was the one who heard those prayers and decided, as usual, to play a grand trick on me. Not only was Loghain still here, but he was in the library reading, and not busy in the slightest. He looked up when I approached and got a servant to bring paper and pens as I sat down in front of him. He hadn't been with us long enough to learn the sign language. He likely never would.

 _'I wanted to thank you for chasing down the servant who served the poison,'_ I wrote. I made the words as sharp as I could to make it clear how much I didn't like this. _'And for interrogating them.'_

 _'Just doing what I could, so that you and Layla could focus on Nuada_ ,' Loghain wrote back. His own writing was very easy, almost nonchalant. _'Figured he'd need it. He's inclined to hide behind a smile.'_

 _'I've noticed.'_

 _'They're realer now, though. His smiles. I'm glad. Maric and I always worried about that.'_ He shrugged, but I couldn't help but frown. It sounded like something a concerned family member would say. Of course, Nuada had considered him family, but… _'Something on my face?'_

 _'I do not understand you.'_

 _'Hopefully that means you won't make the same mistakes as me.'_ He studied me for a moment, and I debated whether or not I should just get up or not. However, he began writing again, and Ashalle would have my head if I were _that_ rude. _'So, Morrigan.'_ I bristled instantly, but he still watched me closely. After a moment, he gave me a sympathetic, truly sympathetic, look. _'It is among the worst of feelings, letting someone you love go because you know it is the best thing.'_

 _'How would you know that?'_

 _'I loved Rowan, and I am the one who convinced her to be the queen. I knew she'd be good at it. And she was.'_

It took a second to realize what he wrote and then _realize_ what he wrote. But when I did, it… it broke a dam. It broke a dam and so, I just wrote. It was by no means coherent, but I wrote down all of my tangled thoughts, even as I wondered why I was trusting _Loghain_ of all people with them. But I wrote. I wrote about Morrigan. I wrote about Merrill. I wrote about the rings I still wore, and how Fenarel had told me Merrill still wore the necklace I made her. How I didn't know if I loved Merrill-Merrill or just the memory and that life. How I felt my feelings for Morrigan waning and felt guilty for it. How I just wanted to know if Morrigan was okay, because I could figure out the rest if I knew she wasn't bleeding out in a ditch somewhere. On and on and on… the only thing I didn't mention was the child. My child. The child Morrigan and I had. Loghain didn't know about the Ritual, and I wouldn't tell him that. I only told Layla, Nuada, and Aiden, and that was how it was going to remain. That was _our_ secret, and we would take it to our graves.

When I was done writing pages of nonsense, I shoved them at him, almost daring him to make fun of me. But he didn't. He instead read through the twisted words carefully, taking each one seriously, as seriously as Marethari would treat one of our prized books. He asked for clarification on a few points, mostly because I used elven word and he couldn't guess the meaning from context, and then continued to read. And it… it calmed me. I would never forgive him for Ostagar. I was uncomfortable around him and would probably always be. But he took this seriously, even when it was such a mess.

 _'On Morrigan, you shouldn't feel guilty for falling out of love,'_ he finally wrote, writing on a blank piece of paper. He checked through what I had written, making sure he had things correct, and then continues. ' _It happens and is normal. You mention here that the two of you had more and more arguments, meaning that you were already heading towards separation. Then she left, which put a definite finality to it. So, your heart is healing and letting that love fade. There is no shame in feeling pathetic over it, though, and there's no shame in wondering if she is okay.'_

He went back to reading through what I wrote, taking his time, and I read through his words again, feeling unsettled that he had summarized the chaotic mess so neatly. At the same time, I felt relieved. I felt relieved that someone could summarize it. I felt relieve that there was someone older and… well, I questioned Loghain's wisdom, but still.

 _'As for Merrill, I'd honestly suggest trying to reconnect with her.'_ Loghain still wrote carefully, double-checking my words to make sure, again, he hadn't misread something. _'Eventually, that is. Things are a little busy, and likely will remains so. But you should find her again, and rebuild your friendship. That'll help you with separating the memory from the person. It'll also help her. You four changed a lot in three and a half months. I know because I expected the children I saw in the camp, and… well, not the adults you were during the Landsmeet.'_

 _'I suppose we startled a lot of people,'_ I wrote, unable to resist the borderline-bitter retort. I was very aware of how different things were now. _'I feel like an idiot.'_

 _'This is probably the most normal I have_ _ever_ _seen you lot, which might be why you feel ridiculous.'_ He smiled bitterly before writing the next lines. _'Thanks to the Blight, and my own idiocy, you all got trapped into roles that… well, you're very suited for, but honestly, you should've had a couple more years of flailing about into maturity before taking up those roles. You do well, but now, you struggle with normality. The traumas carve deep.'_ His smile warmed as he wrote the next lines. _'You're fine, Cleon. Flail about. It's what young people are supposed to do. And anyone that tries to talk you down for it… well, kill them for their idiocy. You'll be doing the world a favor.'_ That startled a smile out of me. _'Might I see the rings?'_

My answer was to take off my glove and hold out my hand. I wouldn't take them off. I couldn't. They were to reassuring for me to. He seemed to understand, though, because he didn't look annoyed. Instead, he studied them as best as he could.

Eventually, he smiled and wrote again. _'Fine work.'_

 _'Ma serranas.'_ I made sure to write that before pulling my glove on again. Then I continued. _'I'm not sure where Morrigan got hers, though it's more to make sure I didn't get too caught up in trouble. Merrill carved the other one, though she had help.'_ Tamlen had helped her. I remembered him teasing us, after she had given it to me.

 _'If Morrigan's is supposed to ward trouble away, I think you need to get the spell renewed.'_ It took a second to realize he was joking, and I had to smile at it. I covered my mouth to hide it, but still. _'How are you feeling?'_

 _'Better.'_ It was still a mess, but I at least had a path. _'Ma serranas. Again.'_

 _'Glad to help.'_ He tilted his head to the side and looked up. I followed his gaze and saw Anora walking around, clearly looking for something. Or someone. _'Anora is looking for me, it seems.'_

 _'You should go see.'_

 _'Thank you.'_ Loghain smiled and nodded a goodbye, standing up and heading towards her. I watched them interact, no signs but the genuine warmth in their smiles and expressions spoke of all the love in the world. Regardless of what happened, their affection was clear.

When they disappeared from my sight, I gathered up all the papers, to make sure no one would read them. This was my business and I'd tell my friends with my own words. After I thought about it all a little more, using Loghain's advice as guidance. Part of me hated that I had to rely on him. But the rest of me was just relieved to have finally talked to _someone_ , and be reassured. To not have to be the leader and the reliable one. To not burden my friends with this mess of thoughts, though I knew they'd never view it as burdens. I knew because I never considered _them_ burdens either.

But it was nice to just… get advice. Like a normal person. Even if the source was someone I wasn't sure I'd ever like.

* * *

Lyna wrote letters much the same she talked when she was in a particularly good mood. With barely any sort of coherence. Thankfully, I had years of experience in deciphering my twin's ramblings, so I made it through her letter before too long, though I did have to devote almost a full morning to the task. That was fine, though, as relaxing in my own room wasn't something I'd been able to do much. There was always _something_ to be done. Besides, it gave me an excuse to 'not be found' when Loghain left earlier.

I leaned back in my desk chair, shifting to try and avoid my ass going numb from all the sitting I'd been doing, and read through her letter again. Lyna talked rather happily about everything, though I could see the sadness lingered in between the lines. She missed Tamlen greatly and mourned him keenly. Which made sense, of course. It hadn't even been a year. It reminded me, though, that I hadn't told her 'the truth' about Tamlen's death, though I had told my friends. I hadn't told her how he'd been transformed into a ghoul, a thrall to the darkspawn and the Archdemon, and I'd strangled him to death. I'd even given her a variation of his last words, just to hide that fact. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his fingers tracing out words…

I shook my head sharply, and focused back on Lyna's letter, determined to not lose myself in nightmares. Particularly since she talked so lovingly of Athela, her adorable daughter I planned on spoiling rotten. She talked of how Ashalle adored watching Athela while she tended to her duties as an official 'advisor' to Alistair, though she also mentioned how Ashalle would probably join the new settlement in the Hinterlands when Athela was a little older. She then bounced to talk about how much fun she was having with Neria, Aiden's cousin and Layla's friend, and how she adored listening to Valendrian. I knew it was because he reminded her of Hahren Paivel, because she put an emphasis on the stories.

She ended the letter with a 'I miss you and love you, so come by soon', followed by a couple of rough sketches of her and Athela. There was an arrow pointing to drawing-Athela with the words 'she misses her uncle!' attached to it. It made me smile even as I reluctantly set the letter to the side. I wanted to reply immediately, but decided I first wanted to get them something to send with it. It felt proper, like all the gifts the Clan had given me…

I had them all set up on the desk with me, just to give myself something nice to look at. Which I did, absently playing with the wooden beaded necklace I always wore, the one 'heirloom' from my father. The hunting knife Ashalle had given me, used during the Blight whenever we had meat. The small halla figurine from Maren, though with a couple of scratches because of all the running we did. The seeds Fenarel gave me, which I thought I should give to Layla and Velanna for the garden. Part of me wished I still had the coins Master Ilen had given me, but those had been spent long ago, sadly. I wore the gloves Merrill had given me, of course, but they needed a repair thanks to all the abuse they went through thanks to all the fighting. I wore the bracelet Marethari gave me as well still, somehow still whole despite everything, a reminder that I had family who would always be there for me, no matter where I went. 'Somehow still whole' actually was a phrase that could be associated with all the trinkets. After all, despite everything, I hadn't actually lost a single one. A small miracle from the Creators, that.

My eyes last fell on the framed portrait of my parents, tucked into the corner. Set in front of it was the cracked hilt of one of my mamae's daggers, the one I killed the Archdemon with. The force or whatever had completely shattered the blade, so I had to leave it here. The other one, though, I still carried. There was nothing wrong with carrying three daggers, after all. Between it and Father's necklace, I could almost pretend they were watching over me, with the same kind, warm smiles they had in the picture. It amused me, though, how much like our parents both Lyna and I looked. I took after Father, and she'd taken after Mamae.

Back in a happy mood, I stretched my arms above my head and tilted my chair back a bit to stretch. I nearly fell over, but no one was here to see the lack of grace, thankfully, so after the moment of panic, I quickly settled down and picked up another of my letters to read. I smiled when I saw it was from Dagna, the dwarf girl who studied at Kinloch Hold now because of… well, frankly, because of a whim. Wynne had remembered promising to listen to her once they returned, and I'd gone along with her in a desperate need to stay away from all the political nonsense. Wynne hadn't been all that certain, probably because of the recent troubles, but she was just so enthusiastic that I couldn't help but argue for her to go. Wynne agreed pretty quickly and wrote a letter to help Dagna get in the door. Now, she studied all the magic she wanted and more and happily gushed about it in letters to me.

I didn't mind. Her enthusiasm was absolutely endearing, after all. So, I grabbed a pen and some paper and wrote back, mostly telling her what bits I knew about how the Dalish approached magic. Noticing her enthusiasm for fire, though, I made sure to warn her about how some apprentices would run around and ignore warnings. I felt I had to. Layla had told me of the incident that traumatized her to the point of being afraid of fire. I didn't want Dagna to go through the same. Aside from the mental trauma, it could get her kicked out and I didn't want that.

I'd just signed my name to the letter when I noticed a commotion outside through my window. Frowning, I grabbed my weapons and headed outside, watching the servants. They were nervous, but not 'we are under attack' nervous. They weren't running around with wild eyes, just skittish. So, I took my time heading into the courtyard, though when I got there, I wondered if I should've gotten there sooner. It was absolutely crowded and I had no real means of identifying the problem. I looked for people I knew, and saw Nathaniel holding a particularly annoyed Velanna back. Anders wasn't far away, and he wasn't busy, so I walked over to him and poked his shoulder. He jumped and nearly fell, but he recovered after a moment and got someone to bring him pen and paper.

 _'Sorry, not even going to try with the sign language right now,'_ he wrote, smiling apologetically. I waved my hand to reassure him that it wasn't an issue. _'I don't know how you all learned so quickly.'_

Since there was sadly only one pen, I took it from him to reply. _'I think it helped that we made it up by mashing together what signs we did know. You'll pick it up quicker than you think.'_ I smiled at him briefly before continuing. _'Sorry for startling you.'_

 _'You move like a damn shadow sometimes.'_ Anders rolled his eyes, but I couldn't help but be happy to hear that. I'd once prided myself for that. Now, I had no way of knowing if I still did it or not. _'Did you get to see any of the show?'_

 _'No.'_ I glanced around, feeling almost uncomfortable by all the people crowded about. It was too hot, and there was too much to look at. _'What happened?'_

 _'Some of the locals decided to protest the lack of food or something. Pretty sure someone stirred them up.'_ Anders gave me a knowing look and I closed my eyes briefly to keep from sighing. Those damn conspirators… _'They almost got fireballed in the face. Velanna had been talking with Layla about the Andraste statue when they came up and was very annoyed when they started yelling at Layla.'_

 _'So that is why Nathaniel is holding her back.'_ I was rather happy Velanna wanted to defend Layla. Though, she might've just been annoyed at them interrupting the conversation. _'How is it going?'_

 _'Layla just convinced them to stand down, so Oh, they're dispersing.'_ Anders nudged me before pointing, so that I could see. Thanks to the crowd shifted to watch, I also found a clear path to Layla. _'Well, this was a fun distraction for the morning.'_

 _'Clearly we need more to do around here.'_ I grinned at Anders and patted him on the back before following that path to Layla, a bit worried for her since this had to be stressful. I didn't see Nuada around, which confused me since I expected him to be by to support Layla, but Anora was, talking with Layla with a proud smile. Between that, and Layla signing out of habit, I was able to piece together that Anora was praising her for how she handled it, though there was some worries.

Despite facing away from me, Layla actually caught sight of me before Anora did, and beamed at me. 'Well, that was invigorating,' she joked. She leaned into my side when I slung my arm around her shoulder, though, telling me she was more drained that she let on. 'Anora and Varel are worried it will encourage them to riot more, though.'

'We'll figure something out if they try,' I reassured. I didn't ask how she placated them. It didn't matter. 'Surprised Nuada isn't about.'

'Anora was just explaining that, I think.' She focused again on Anora, who looked genuinely amused by something. 'What was it?'

'I swung by Nuada's room on the way out to ask if he needed help getting outside,' Anora explained. Her smile softened. 'He replied that he knew you would be able to handle it, that he would be proudly watching from the window, and that it would be much easier to play infirm and give you a perfect excuse to not be seen for a couple of hours while recovering.'

'He knows me well,' Layla replied. Her smile was bright, though a touch exasperated. She would've liked him beside her, but at the same time, he really did anticipate what she'd need afterwards. 'Can I get away with disappearing for a bit?'

'Given the chaos? Of course. I can let Varel know that you need the rest of the morning to yourself, if you would like.'

'Thank you!' Layla smiled brightly at her before turning to me. 'You want to join us?'

'I'll actually take Nathaniel and make sure no assassins are about first,' I signed, already getting on my tiptoes to try and catch his eye. Thankfully, he seemed to be looking for me and pointed to the wall. At my nod, he went ahead towards it. 'Just in case. I am going to treat this like the Landsmeet and all the damn assassins.'

'Howe certainly ruined the treasury between that and embezzling,' Anora sighed. She looked distinctly irritated, and I wondered what it was about. How she hadn't been as in control as she thought? All the damage? I had no idea, and knew better than to ask. 'These conspirators will probably think like him, sadly.'

'So, I will get on that.' I ruffled Layla's hair and she smiled at me. 'You take that much needed break, okay? I'll swing by later.'

To our surprise, we did actually find one 'assassin' attempting to set up, plotting to snipe Layla with a crossbow bolt. Nathaniel and I bound him up for questioning and then told Anders to check everything for poison. Again. Fen'harel's teeth, I knew I shouldn't be surprised at shemlen making things far more complicated than they needed to, but I was sincerely hoping Elgar'nan would blast them or something for the sheer _stupidity_ of it all.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Aiden returned. Of course, no one _told_ me that. I learned because I was walking down the hall, minding my own business, and nearly got run over by a strangely frantic Aiden. So frantic that he actually didn't even notice. I stared after him for a moment before looking around and finding Sigrun not far away. She looked just as confused as me and shrugged.

'Scout said something to him on the way in,' she signed, shifting her bag to her elbow to make it easier. At least, that's what I thought. She favored the Orzammar Warrior Caste signs more than the others, and I was the least skilled in reading those, for now. I worked with Oghren to better my comprehension. 'No clue what. He played calm until the person was out of sight and then bolted faster than a starving nug.'

'Anything abnormal with the Dark Wolf's information?' I asked, wondering if that had something to do with it. She shook her head, though, so I mentally cursed. 'Mind me being rude and chasing after him?'

'Nah, don't worry about it.' She even waved her hand to dismiss the 'rudeness'. 'I'm just going to get something to eat. I'm starving.'

'Ma serranas.' So, I took off after Aiden, following the trail of bewildered soldiers all the way to Nuada and Layla's room. Aiden was in there, sitting by the bed, looking strangely like a rag doll in the chair. Nuada was focused completely on reassuring him, based on the smile and the kind eyes.

Layla was also there, likely checking in on Nuada, and she was the one who saw me first. 'Apparently, whoever told Aiden that Nuada had been poisoned neglected to mention that Nuada had fully recovered,' she explained, signs a bit stiff. I just facepalmed, finally understanding Aiden's haste. He'd expected to see Nuada dead or lingering in front of Falon'din. 'Aiden is mumbling curses I cannot hear very well, and Nuada is just reassuring him that everything is okay.'

'I guessed the latter, and do not blame the former,' I replied, expression droll to better convey how done I was. Who left out _that_ part of a report? 'Your signs are stiff. You good?'

'My hands and wrists hurt from all the writing I have to do. Nuada was massaging them when Aiden burst in.' She smiled ruefully. 'I am reminded that I did more reading than writing at the Circle.'

'Oh, I hear you on the writing.' It was amazing how much paperwork there was, really. 'Okay, so nothing is on fire. Someone is just an idiot.'

'Precisely.' Layla's smile warmed when she turned to the other two. 'Is everything well now?'

'I wish I had gotten that messenger's name so that I can yell at them, but otherwise, yes,' Aiden replied. The dark look and sharp signs gave the words a distinct growl. 'For somewhat lighter news, I saw Wynne in Amaranthine.'

'You did?' Layla asked, face lighting up. She sat down on the bed, next to Nuada, and I sat down on the corner by Nuada's feet, since Aiden had the only chair. 'What is she doing there?'

'Apparently, on her way to some meeting? I forgot where she said, but there's a movement for the Circle to break away from the Chantry.'

'…No one would allow that.' Layla frowned. 'It would result in a war, and it is too soon after what happened in Kinloch Hold.'

'Yeah, Wynne thinks it'll die on the floor, but wanted to get the warning out because knowing us…' Knowing us, we'd somehow be involved in the aftermath. 'Other than that, though, she's doing well. Got gifts… somewhere…' He frowned a moment before dropping his head. 'Right, they're in Sigrun's bag.'

'We can get them later. Did you get good information from the Dark Wolf? We got some from the attempted assassins.'

'…Assassins? _Plural_?!' Aiden half stood, but Nuada rested a hand on his shoulder. 'Argh! Humans! Nobles!'

'It truly baffles me how little intelligence some of my fellows have,' Nuada replied with a bitter smile. Something told me he wasn't as baffled as the rest of us. 'But we can discuss their lack of self-preservation another time. Aiden, you have information?'

'Yes, I do,' Aiden confirmed. He muttered something under his breath, which made Nuada laugh hard enough to fall back against the pillows and made poor Layla horribly confused. 'Why am I not surprised you know the expression, Lord Nuada?'

'You know and love me, obviously.' Nuada grinned and shook his head at Layla and me. 'It is a bit of a… it's a curse that'll require a lot of explanation.'

'Sadly.' Aiden smirked a little and slumped in his chair, finally relaxing. 'But yes, I have some very good information. Their location.'

'Oh, that is nice.' Nuada studied Aiden, though, frowning. 'You found out something else.'

'Remember that Warden? Missing in the…' Aiden took my hand to spell out a word. B-L-A-C-K-M-A-R-S-H. Blackmarsh. He then signed the two words; the pause had been to let me know it was a place, and not a particularly inky marsh. 'So, we have, guess what, two places. Again. How do we always end up with that?'

'Well, the first split had been to not reduce our numbers too much and as a compromise because Layla wanted to go to the Circle and Cleon wanted to go to the Dalish.'

'I remember that,' Layla laughed, her signs light, despite the stiffness. She and I shared a smile. 'I was so surprised you defended my request, Nuada.'

'I just pointed out the logic of going there sooner rather than later,' Nuada replied. His signs were sure, but he looked off to the side, embarrassed. 'It was a good thing we arrived when we did, though. The same could be said of our timing with the Dalish.'

'We have the most interesting timing.' Layla quickly grew sad, though, and it was easy to know why. How many people died because we didn't _happen_ to be nearby? A lot. 'Regardless, I will either deal with the conspirators or… stay here to work. I will have to confer with Varel before deciding.'

'I will definitely be going to the Marsh,' Aiden signed, looking very reluctant. And mildly annoyed. 'I am the Commander. Whoever this person is, they are mine. I have to go.'

'Technically, they're 'ours', since I am your Warden-Constable, so I will go with you,' Nuada added. He frowned when both Aiden and I gave him skeptical looks. 'I have told you that I am perfectly well. I'm only resting because Layla asked. I'm actually about to go mad.'

'Madder.'

'Yes.' Nuada completely shrugged off the correction, and that made Aiden and Layla laugh. I hid my own grin behind my hand. 'Besides, Cleon is our sneaky assassin. If worse comes to worse, he can just gut them.'

'Gladly,' I instantly retorted. I twisted around and laid down on Nuada's legs, too tired of sitting. Layla immediately began braiding parts of my hair. It amused me that Nuada and I had the longest hair of us four. His still fell to his hips, while mine was just a bit shorter. Aiden cut his short, and Layla's… well, hers never seemed to grow past the middle of her back. 'I will just need someone with me, to make sure I don't miss some auditory cue.'

'Sigrun would probably be best for that,' Aiden mused, frowning thoughtfully. He leaned back in his chair, took off his boots finally, and stretched his legs out over Nuada's lap. 'I noticed when we were walking. She is very sneaky. So is Nathaniel, but I don't think Nathaniel helped out with assassinations.' He suddenly jumped, and probably yelped, when Nuada tickled his feet. 'Lord Nuada!'

'I'm sorry; I couldn't resist,' Nuada replied with a cheeky grin. It became truly apologetically when Aiden scowled. 'I won't do it again. Promise. So, Sigrun is to stay and help with the conspirators. We probably want Anders to stay as well, just in case we get _another_ poisoning.' He signed 'another' twice, looking significantly more annoyed on the second one. 'So, Velanna, Oghren, and Nathaniel will come with us.'

'But will that leave you two without a healer?' Layla asked worriedly. Her eyes went to the still scabbed bite mark on Nuada's neck. I shuddered, remembering that fiery golem thing. 'I do not want you all…'

'Velanna does know healing magic,' I brought up reluctantly. Reluctant, because I was with Layla. I'd honestly rather Anders go with them. But I couldn't fault the logic of leaving Anders here in case of more poisonings. 'She is not as good of one as you and Anders, but she is very skilled. And her magic with the plants should help them if they get lost.' I remembered Marethari and Merrill using their magic to make sure we didn't venture too deep in the Brecilian Forest, at least. 'Is the Blackmarsh a place where you can get lost? It sounds horrible.'

'It's got one main path, if I recall correctly, but that could just be one path that is cleared and we will have to go off the path,' Nuada signed. He closed his eyes, clearly trying to remember anything he knew. 'It's a pretty desolate area, though at one point, it actually had a very bustling village, ruled by a Baroness, with a small port and everything. Then, on day, it just vanished. Nothing but burned ruins and no sign of life.'

'That…' I frowned and glanced at Layla. Her grimace told me she had the same guess I did. 'That sounds like magic.'

'Well, between that, sightings of strange creatures, and eerie lights, people believe it's haunted.' Nuada opened his eyes again and looked annoyed. 'It is horribly damp and cold as well. So, if we come down with colds, I am sorry in advance.' I nodded, but Layla and Aiden frowned in confusion. '…I just switched languages, didn't I?'

'How is it that you never noticed?'

'It _started_ by taking advantage of how people tend to view multilingual people and turn that expectation into an endearing quirk that made them underestimate Elspeth and me. Now it is a habit that neither of us can break because we did it too long.' Nuada sighed, though Layla, Aiden, and I shared an uncomfortable look. 'It happens mainly when I have to think fast. Otherwise, I'll notice that I can't remember a word.'

'Like three. And kitten. And-'

'Yes, yes!' Nuada scowled, but softened quickly. 'Maybe I can finally start trying to break that habit, though. I might be able to with you all.' Those… those words held a lot of weight from him. It meant he didn't feel the need to hide anymore, that he was 'safe enough' with everyone that he could lose some of his defense mechanisms. 'Why are all of you looking at me like you just saw a particularly cute mabari puppy do something adorable?'

'Well, you are adorable,' Layla _instantly_ replied, leaning forward to kiss his cheek for emphasis. He went red, and looked down to try and hide his dopey smile. 'I will explain later, as I am sure Aiden and Cleon had the same reasons. Are there other things to discuss?'

'I have a question,' I began, recalling something. 'Layla, at Ostagar… yes, I know, ir abelas.' I had to apologize when everyone winced. 'Communication thing?'

'You have to keep yourself partially open to the Fade for it to work.' Layla grimaced. 'The original plan had been me, on watch, and Wynne, a healer who could step away briefly. So, it would work fine then. But with circumstances as they are…'

'We'd have better luck getting Falon'din and Dirthamen to betray each other.' It took me a second to realize their blank looks were because they had _no_ idea that the two Creators were twins. 'They are incredibly loyal to each other. I probably should've just said we'd have better luck betraying each other.'

'Yes, we would.' Layla smiled softly. 'So, sadly…'

'Right. Not a thing to use, then.' I smiled when Layla went back to braiding my hair. 'Anything else?'

'Well, we got a letter from…' Nuada began. He took my hand to spell out a name. A-D-A-N. Adan. 'He's the royal alchemist. Elspeth and Alistair asked him to make us up a bunch of potions and bombs and what not. When we combine it with whatever Anders has made as well as…' He spelled out another name on my hand. D-W-O-R-K-I-N. Dworkin. The sign he used was, basically, 'mad bomber'. 'Between all of that we should, in theory, be okay.'

'Please don't almost die,' I begged. I felt myself half-nodding off due to Layla playing with my hair. 'Again.'

'I feel like that sentence could be said to most of us.' Nuada gave us all pointed looks, and we sighed in silent agreement. 'But we have been much too dour and, believe me, I am damned tired of dour. Let's talk of happier things, shall we?'

Slowly, we all began simply sharing gossip. Some old stories. Newer ones I talked about the gate mechanism below. Nuada and Layla mentioned all the repairs to the Keep. Aiden described Amaranthine and more about what he and Wynne had talked of. Eventually, I started nodding off, but no one cared. I'd just wake up to bunches of braids, if the others didn't fall asleep too. It had been a long couple of days, after all. They would only get longer.

Fen'harel, if you could stop with the tricks, I'd be grateful.

* * *

Author's note: The horsemaster in the intro bit is Dennet, from Inquisition; he shows a great admiration of halla, and harts are one of the mounts available to Inquisitors. All the Dalish history comes from bits of the codex from Inquisition and bits of knowledge from the writers' twitters, though Marethari's last name being Talas comes from _The World of Thedas, Vol 2_.

Lots of little callbacks as well and some Loghain interaction. Adan is a member of the Inquisition staff, one of the ones in Haven to be specific, and his bio (or talk of his background) mentions he was Cailan's royal alchemist. Dagna's quest happened mostly off-screen, but since she plays a role in Inquisition, I chose to add another reference to her here. Her enthusiasm for fire comes from various dialogues and the like in Inquisition.

This quest 'Peasant Revolution' occurs when you've completed two main quests and A Day in Court. They'll protest one of three things (lack of safety, lack of food, or tyranny of an Orlesian Warden if you didn't import yours) and if you haven't dealt with the conspirators, its speculated that they're involved. One of Velanna's 'talk points' is the Andraste statue in the Courtyard (Velanna reveals an admiration for Andraste, though she loathes the Chantry for very understandable reasons). The crossbow assassin is a reference to the 'attack' on you if you choose to ignore the conspirators.

Next Chapter – Dealing with the conspirators with Layla


	16. Chapter 13) 'Heroes'

Chapter 13) 'Heroes'

 _Layla POV_

* * *

 _She watches them leave from the window, going to confront the conspirators. Layla had talked extensively with Varel and her, debating whether or not Layla should go or not. Ultimately, she thought Layla should. After all, Layla had proved her kindness already, through dealing with the little 'revolt' they had. Now, Layla need to prove that she had an iron will. Every rose has its thorn, and every proper lady is steel wrapped in silk. Layla had to embody that, if she was going to survive politics._

 _Rose… Empress Celene once called her that. 'The Solitary Rose among Brambles.' Ha, how far she has fallen. Well, not really. Being the Teryna of Highever is honestly not that much of a step down from queen. But it is a step down and it rankles her. She had wanted to be queen. It pains her that the Landsmeet had turned against her. Part of her feels like they were ungrateful for all she had done. The rest of her acknowledges that she probably hadn't done nearly enough, since they did turn._

 _It is painful, realizing you weren't as right as you thought. It is painful to realize you contributed to the pain of your own home. So, she does what she can to help still, worried about all the new leadership and how Fereldan would fare in the coming years._

" _Teryna Cousland." Varel joins her by the window and it takes her a moment to remember that the term applies to her. Instinctually, she looked for Eleanor, but Eleanor is gone. So many are dead. It almost drives her mad, seeing so many gone. She wishes she was a little girl with pigtails and skinned knees, when she could curl up with her father and be reassured. But those days are gone. She's too old for such nonsense. "I imagine things will be quieter, once they're done," he continues, giving her time to recover her calm. He's a good man. She can see why Howe made sure to get him out of the way as soon as possible. "Well, so long as the darkspawn let us."_

" _We should perhaps prod the nobles for more troops here," she replies, already thinking. They had to be prepared for anything. "I have a few favors I think I can still call in."_

" _Perfect. Shall we? There's also the Oathbreaker process to continue."_

" _Of course."_

* * *

The conspirators were in a lovely cabin just off the road. It belonged to a farmer who evacuated due to the fighting, and had not yet reclaimed his home. Sigrun and Cleon scouted around, disabling traps and the like. Anders and I hung back, waiting for the 'all-clear'. He had tried to make conversation, but I did not reply, simply waiting rigidly. I also ignored his (rightfully) worried looks, focused entirely on the cabin.

Finally, Cleon and Sigrun returned. "The door is locked, but everything else is…" Sigrun began. I softened slightly at seeing her signing, and glanced at Cleon to make sure he was following. His nod reassured me. "What's that surfacer saying? Right as something?"

"Rain," Anders supplied. He also signed, and I noticed that he favored the Kinloch Hold signs in our odd mash-up. "Right as rain. Though, I've only heard that saying in a health context."

"Still don't really get how rain works. Why does water fall out of the sky?"

"Oh, that's-"

"I didn't mean _actually_ tell me." She scowled and Anders grinned, unrepentant. "Why do you even know?"

"Magic can wreak havoc on the weather. One of the most powerful spell combinations is a storm, actually. Storm of the Century." He stared as Cleon facepalmed and I looked to the side sheepishly. "Layla, did you cast it?"

"Morrigan and I did?" I squeaked. I still felt horrible about it. Even though it worked wonderfully, it did almost hurt my friends. "But we… ah… underestimated the strength. Severely." I caught Cleon's hands when he brought him up to sign. "He doesn't need to know how badly! Besides, we have a purpose here."

'Since when does that stop us from joking around,' Cleon snarked as soon as he got his hands free. He winked when I scowled. 'Regardless, though, how to we open the door? Sigrun can pick it, if we want to go the subtle route.'

"I have a fire rod we can use to melt the lock."

"You have what?" Anders asked, giving me a weird look. He was the only one here who knew how much of a pain it could be to obtain one. "Why, exactly, do you have that?"

"I got it when I helped Jowan break into the repository to destroy his phylactery," I explained lightly. I rummaged through my pack and pulled it out for emphasis. "Then bunches of things happened, so I never got around to returning it."

"...You did what."

"It was before I knew him being a blood mage was actually the truth." I scowled, feeling horribly bitter. The whole thing with Jowan still did hurt terribly and I could not help but wonder if Lily might have fared better if I had not played along. "Can we move on? There is the lock, the fire rod, or we can be _really_ dramatic and simply tear the door off the hinges."

"We could just set the place on fire. Boom." Anders looked into his pack. "I've got explosives. So, we can really make a boom, if we want drama."

"We are _not_ exploding them to the Black City, Anders." I glowered at him. "I do not want the land damaged, Anders. We have no idea what shrapnel will result."

"It's a tiny cabin! It's not like we're blowing up a big building." He sighed when I deepened my glower into an outright glare. "Okay, okay. Not _that_ dramatic. Sigrun, Cleon! Opinion on drama."

'I am a _hunter_ ,' Cleon instantly signed, giving us one of the more exasperated looks I had seen him wear. It was not quite 'Nuada, you are being an idiot again' level, but it was rather close. 'I also have training as an Assassin and a Shadow. My source of battle dramatics is appearing out of nowhere to kill someone and disappearing again.'

"And dramatics were normally reserved for bait in the Legion," Sigrun added, shrugging. She was absolutely nonchalant. It was like she had seen everything, and just rolled with things. "Never had to kill idiots for being stupid before. We're allowed to have a bit of fun with it, right? Something to make their last moments exciting? Or is that rude here?"

'Is it any more rude than botching so many assassination attempts?' He poked my cheek when I brought up my hands to respond. 'Zevran doesn't count. He planned on dying to us.'

"No clue who you're talking about."

'Aiden's lover.'

"His lover is an assassin who tried to kill him?" Sigrun and Anders both gave us weird looks. Cleon and I just shrugged because, honestly, it was not the weirdest thing that happened to us. "Oh, whatever. Dramatics. Let's be dramatic before they leave."

I leapt at the idea and used Telekinesis to rip the door off its hinges. Cleon and Sigrun used the chaos to dart around the sides as people raced out, wondering what was going on. Anders supported them as they picked off everyone. I walked past and strolled into the house to see if any had stayed. One had: Esmerelle. According to the Dark Wolf's information, she was actually the leader of this little group.

"Good morning, Esmerelle," I greeted, making sure to smile. Esmerelle glared and her hand slowly crept towards a knife on the table behind her. "I do not know what you expected. It is not as if I do not have allies." I regarded her cooly, anger pooling in my belly. I could not believe she did this. How _dare_ she? "I have already begun the legal process to have you declared Oathbreaker."

"Upstart… little bitch…" Esmerelle growled out. I raised an eyebrow, ignoring the chaotic battle outside the little house. I did not want to be arrogant and give her an opening, but at the same time, I could not believe that was her best insult. "Degrading Arl Howe, who was so good to us…"

"You side with someone who slaughtered his 'best friend' and liege lord in the middle of the night, as well as all the servants and children. You side with someone who purged the Alienage, locking up orphans and setting their home aflame." I crossed my arms, just… angry. I was so _angry_. "It was only a matter of time before he decided to turn on you, you know. He was very 'good' to the Couslands and look how he betrayed them."

"They're traitors!" Esmerelle spat out the words, and I bristled. She had no right to say that. She, who did not help us during the Blight, who tried to kill us now out of a sense of entitlement, had absolutely no right to say that. "Chatting with Orlesians… siring heirs with foreign-"

"Silence. You are clearly..." I paused, and shook my head. "No, I will not call you delusional. That would imply there is something 'wrong' with you, that you are 'ill'. You are not. You are someone who thinks herself more important than everyone else around her. You are a product of a very corrupt system. You are also a complete idiot and forgot something important. I brought my hands up and conjured a single Spirit Blade. "Your Arlessa is a mage." I slowly moved my hand, letting the Blade move around Esmerelle slowly. She blanched, watching it, frozen in fear. "Do you know why mages are feared? I shall show you." I used a Glyph of Paralysis when she tried to attack me. "No. I think you should also experience the fate you tried to inflict on me, and the fate you almost inflicted on Nuada."

I used Telekinesis to knock her down, flat on her face, and then used the Spirit Blade to tear her apart. The first or second blow killed her, likely, but I kept stabbing and slashing, the blood spilling everywhere. I was sickeningly gleeful over it and I I had the thought to seize that blood to rip her apart further. But that thought made me freeze and then step back, letting the magic fade, because that terrified me. It honestly terrified me that I had gotten so close to breaking one of my own rules, just because I was so furious.

I nearly screamed when someone nudged my shoulder, but bit my lip in time when I saw it was simply Cleon poking me. He was splattered with blood, signs of the lives he had taken, and looked about curiously. His eyes fell on the remains, so mangled that it was hard to call it a 'body' anymore, and he nudged them, as if anyone could survive that. I braced myself for a wince or disappointment, but when Cleon looked up, he just held out his arms to silently offer me a hug and I took it without hesitation.

'Are you okay?' he signed, after a moment. I shook my head, still too angry and ill to speak. 'You were more terrified about Nuada's collapse than you let on, huh?'

"I… I will not pretend everything should be happily ever after," I began slowly. It was an effort to sign, but the effort helped me calm down again. "There is far too much to do. There will always be too much to do. We will never be allowed to simply rest. We will always be protecting people, always 'saving the world'. It is who we are, now."

'We will always have to work to be the heroes, to keep everything safe.' He understood. Of course he did. 'And then we have these idiotic shemlen, who tried to steal away what bits of happiness we have, because they felt entitled to more power. People _we_ saved, _we_ protected…' He signed both 'we's thrice for emphasis. 'And this is how we are thanked. We save the damn world…'

"I want at least a year with him, you know? I would like quite a bit more actually, but I would like at least one year." These people almost took him away from me. They almost took me away from him, and I knew Nuada. I knew that would have broken him, but he would have struggled to keep that smile even as the shards hit the ground. It made my heart ache. "I am certain you want more time with us as well." I still waited for him to nod in confirmation. "People are stupid. Why did we save everything again?"

'Someone had to. And we were the ones in the right place at the wrong time.' Cleon smiled bitterly. 'I wonder if this is how all the heroes felt, in the past.'

"I don't know." I sighed and grimaced as I finally noticed all the blood on me. "I want a bath."

'Let's leave, then. Sigrun and I can scout out a river.' He pulled me a little closer and steered me outside the cabin. 'What should we do with the bodies?'

"We can drag them back inside and Anders and I can set the place on fire. The wind can have their ashes." I snapped my fingers for emphasis and conjured up a tiny fireball. "I will listen to people with serious complaints, but I will not tolerate things like this again. I may be new to this, but I will not be a doormat."

If I was going to rule, then I was going to rule well. I vowed that, when Aiden begged me to take the Arlessa title because they were trying to make him take it. Dealing with one's enemies, sadly, seemed to be part of it. I would have to find my own way on it.

* * *

Sigrun and Cleon found a river a decent distance away from the ashy remains of the cabin, a nice river that was perfect for a bath. We made up camp there or, rather, Cleon and Anders did. Sigrun had not 'camped' with tents and the like with the Legion and I was still absolutely deplorable at setting up tents. So, instead, Sigrun went foraging, Anders helped Cleon do the basics before joining Sigrun, Cleon put the finishing touches on the campsite, and I relaxed in the river.

"I feel bad about making you two do everything, though," I half-complained, letting the river wash away the blood and the cold soothe my aching muscles. Once upon a time, I never would have considered bathing in a river. Now, here I was, completely uncaring. "Though, I suppose it is just you, since Anders and Sigrun went foraging."

'I am very used to it,' Cleon signed, after he finished setting up my tent. He winked at me and briefly cupped his hand around his mouth, like you did when you said a secret. 'Aiden is still really bad at it too.'

"One of these days, I should really learn, though. I cannot depend on everyone all the time." I squeaked when I accidentally splashed myself while signing. Cleon hid his smile behind his hand. "Yes, yes… you may tease me later."

"Who's teasing who?" Anders and Sigrun returned, arms full of various fruits and things. I half-wondered if they raided an abandoned house, or field. "We're back!" Anders announced, setting his portion of the food down. "Sorry we grabbed a lot. Everything looked really good, for some reason."

'Wardens apparently have to eat a lot,' Cleon signed. Duncan had mentioned that, once, though it was not until after the Blight that any of us actually noticed. 'And, you know, we just got done fighting. Burned a lot of energy.'

"I suppose."

"Of course, I don't think I know what some of these things _are_ ," Sigrun complained with a good natured smile. I swam a little closer, not wanting to get out quite yet, but wanting to be part of the conversation. "Okay, I kid. I do know. I just don't know how they're cooked."

"Well, thankfully, I'm actually decent at cooking," Anders declared proudly. He really was, though. I thought it was because he was good at alchemy and cooking was just… edible alchemy, or something. "We will have to prepare the food though, and… and I am distracted by Layla's awesome tattoo." He crouched by the shore to study it better. "It's very well done. Tucked neatly around those burn scars."

"Thank you~" I replied, grinning. I really did like it. It was a single griffon wing entirely on the left side of my back, at rest and fully on my back. "All five of us Wardens got tattoos, actually."

"Really?"

"Yes. Leliana might have gotten one as well, after the Blight ended." I glanced at Cleon, mostly for confirmation. "Did Wynne? I know Zevran offered."

'I think Wynne refused, on the grounds of not having a design she wanted. Leliana _did_ , though.' Cleon grinned. 'It is of a very pretty bird. Night… something?'

"Oh, a nightingale!" I waved Cleon over to that I could spell the name out for him. I did not think we had sign for it. Well, we probably did, but we did not use it often enough for him to recognize quickly. "They are unique in that they sing at night as well as the day, hence their name."

"You see them symbolize poets a lot in literature," Anders added, glancing up at the sky as he thought. He would know more than me; he read more fictional books that I had. "A voice of nature and a muse for the bards or something." Cleon and I shared a knowing, if surprised, look. We knew Leliana was a Bard, of course, but if Anders was correct, it was quite appropriate. "I remember actually doing a report on that."

"Was that one of your detention essays?" I asked. I laughed when he rolled his eyes. "I knew it. Wynne made you do it, yes?"

"She always gave me creative punishments. I think she thought they'd help me more than others. Unfortunately, they were fun, so I got in trouble more often just to have the excuse!"

"Too much talk!" Sigrun laughed. She was separating out the food, and I caught her sneaking a bite to eat. She winked when she saw me looking, and I grinned back. "Cleon, can we see yours?" In answer, Cleon took off his shirt and pulled his hair to the side to make it easier to see the two small wings on his shoulder blades. "Oooo, nice~"

"It is, yes?" I replied, feeling rather chipper. I remembered that day well. It had been so much fun. "Nuada's takes up the right side of his back, a single griffon wing like mine, though his is partially unfurled and curves over his shoulder." I had fun tracing the lines, especially when he was asleep. It was just adorable. "Aiden's is a pair of wings on his lower back, which curve around his waist and hips."

"Why are they all on your back?"

"Well, Nuada got his first, and mine is on my back because I loved his so much." I glanced at Cleon, waiting until he put his shirt back on before signing to him. "Why is yours on your back?"

'I was last, remember?' he signed back. He tugged his hair out from under his shirt and shook it out. 'I think I went with the back just because the three of you did did. I compared the experience with getting my vallaslin, so it felt right to get mine in a similar location as the rest of you.'

"I wonder why Aiden got his on his back then," I murmured. Part of me wondered if it had just been another way Zevran had flirted with Aiden. "Alistair did not get his on his back. He has a crowned griffon on his left bicep."

"Isn't that the king?"

"He was not king yet, but yes."

"Subtle." Sigrun tried to slip another bite, but Anders caught her this time and conjured up a tiny little barrier to block the food from her mouth. "Hey! I'm hungry!"

We all shared a laugh and, while they got things set up for dinner, I finally got out of the river, dried off, and pulled on blessedly clean clothes. Afterwards, I made sure to put on my ring, the symbol of my being a Harrowed Mage, and the amulet Irving gave me. I paused after putting on the bracelet I'd gotten from Lily. I wondered how she was doing. Was she dead? Was she alive? Had anyone told her that Jowan was dead? Did she care anymore? Jowan… he had asked that, if I did see her, to tell her that he loved her until the end and that he was sorry. But I had no idea if I could ever deliver that message. I doubted the Chantry would let even a Warden into Aenor, after all. It all just made me sad.

But, this whole incident made me understand Jowan better. I could understand how anger at loved ones being in danger would make someone reach for blood magic, even when you swore to yourself that you would never use the magic. I could understand so much, and I was not sure I liked that. It made me feel all the guiltier, for how I reacted at the Tower, and for his death.

My head was a mess. I would forever hate Esmerelle for this.

* * *

It was decided, based on our location and the fact that it was barely afternoon, that we would deal with a hostage situation. A local lord's daughter had been kidnapped by some bandits, held for ransom. Her father, instead, asked us for assistance, so here we were, playing the heroes. Again. At least this time, we were more 'traditional' heroes, saving the damsel in distress.

'You know; this reminds me of something,' Cleon signed as we walked. Behind us, Sigrun and Anders chatted over the 'ceremony' for becoming one of the Legion of the Dead, with Sigrun being very evasive for whatever reason. It did not really matter. I was tempted to kick Anders's shin to remind him to be polite. 'The last time we walked down a road like this, you were asking me what everything was.'

"Oh, Maker, I did!" I laughed, though it did take a bit to remembering. It was a long time ago, back when Duncan was alive, before we had even met Aiden. "I had been so incredibly nervous and I hated being outside so much. I must have been _so_ annoying."

'I was also very, very surly. I think we both were out of our comfort zones.' He ruffled my hair and I grinned. 'Besides, neither of us knew any of the items at that inn.'

"No, we did not!" I giggled, finding comfort in the memory. We had both been so confused and had honestly thought that would be the worst of it. "That was the first inn I had ever stayed at."

'Me too.' He grinned back. 'You were so happy about the bed!'

"I had never camped before leaving the Tower. I always had soft beds prior to that."

'You missed so much! Do you even know the stories of the stars?'

"Well…"

"Hey, Wardens!" The shout made me jump and whirl, Cleon as split-second behind me. "Finally got your attention," Sigrun noted with a grin. Anders covered up a snicker and I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, been trying to get your attention. Your group is used to isolating yourselves, but come on, talk!"

"That is…" I had no reply to that. I had not considered myself 'isolated' or anything. "What did you need?"

"I was thinking we'd head to Amaranthine after this. Since we kind of killed its ruler?" She grinned and I did have to nod, conceding the point. "Also, I don't think you've visited yet. Should show off the pretty Arlessa." She paused and looked up at Anders. "It's 'Arlessa', right? I'm still learning."

"It is," Anders confirmed, smiling. I was a little stuck on the 'pretty' part. Nuada thought me pretty, yes, but… "Though, I have no idea the difference between all the titles. Politics are not my speciality. But, regardless, Amaranthine has a beautiful market, places for fun..."

"And fun is important!" Sigrun added, nodding decisively. "I've noticed this, but you Wardens never seem to have fun."

"We laugh!" I protested instantly. I felt strangely defensive, even more so with Anders nodded, silently agreeing to Sigrun's statement. "We tease each other!" A quick glance showed Cleon was as defensive-uncomfortable as I was. He dug his fingers into his arms, holding off his own protests. "So…"

"Well, yeah. But I don't think I've seen you guys, once, just take a day off to do whatever. You're always _doing_ something. Your fun consists of teasing in between jobs and cuddling when people finally let you take a break." Sigrun shrugged, shaking her head like an exasperated sister. "You need to live a little."

'This coming from the dead woman?' Cleon signed then, expression droll to make the words as dry as possible. I was glad he could reply, because I had no idea what to say. 'Really?'

"I know, right?" Sigrun instantly retorted, grinning. She was completely unrepentant. "Should emphasize how bad you guys are."

She and Cleon began arguing, and I actually switched places with her, so that she and Cleon were ahead and I was walking with Anders. "What do you think of what she said?" I asked him softly. He glanced away immediately, a sure sign that he was debating lying. "Anders."

"Well, I do feel like you all got so used to moving-moving-moving that you've forgotten how to relax," Anders reluctantly answered. He pulled me into a one-armed hug and kissed the top of my head, like he used to when we were in the Circle. "I've been worried, as a healer and as a friend. Of course, I'm still a bit more used to the Layla that stuttered whenever she had to talk to someone in authority, so..."

"I am afraid I am a bit different now."

"I noticed. Back at the Circle, we might have been a little group, but you were always bouncing between people, shy yet always wanting to learn about people. Here, you stick with your group of four, unless you have a job that requires you to talk to someone else." He rubbed my arm, and I had no reply. "Bit worrying."

"I feel like you all are making too much of a little thing." Though, I supposed the size of the Keep made it easier to keep distances from each other. We were not in tents just steps away from each other, nor did we have to set up watches. "You and I spend a lot of time together in the infirmary."

"Much as you and I enjoy healing, Layla, you have to admit that it's a _job_." He prodded my cheek and I sulked. "Have you spent any time with, say, Velanna?"

"Velanna is up at dawn and escapes into the gardens, scowling at everyone who is not Cleon. Nathaniel goes on patrol and quietly asks around about people he grew up with, including trying to figure out where his sister is. Oghren drinks or trains soldiers. Sigrun was with Aiden. You are either in the infirmary or working on bombs." I scowled and he grimaced, but nodding, conceding my point. "We are not exactly a cozy group." We were different from the group during the Blight. During the Blight, we were all united in a single purpose. Here… here, we were a very odd group thrown together while trying to figure out why the darkspawn were not retreating as they should.

Anders nodded, silently conceding my point, and fell silent, still half-hugging me. I let him, letting my thoughts wander a bit. I was not too certain on heading to Amaranthine for 'play', but seeing the city would be a good idea and I also… I had been thinking of what Loghain had said, about selling the elves because it was 'better than dying', but letting the humans die in freedom. That hypocrisy confused me, though I had no doubts I had some of my own, things I never even thought about. But I just could not understand why the Fereldan humans could hate Orlais _so much_ , but treat the elves in their own country much the same way. After all, Loghain talked of random beatings, of rapes just for standing up for basic rights and I remembered how Aiden got involved with all of this. I remembered how no one helped.

I wanted to see the Alienage in Amaranthine. I wanted to talk to their hahren and work with them to better things. I could _not_ assume that I knew what they needed. But I was their Arlessa, just as I was the humans' Arlessa. I had a duty to protect them too.

Soon afterwards, we came upon the cliffs where the bandits were gathered, holding a terrified young woman at knifepoint. I skipped ahead of the others, knowing that I looked the least threatening out of us. "Hello," I greeted warmly, making sure to smile. I had no idea what was going on. "I understand you have taken someone for ransom? I am Layla Amell, Warden-Arlessa of Amaranthine. This is Cleon Mahariel, the Hero of Fereldan, and these are-" I did not even get that far. As soon as they heard my name and Cleon's, they ran in absolute terror. A few even jumped off the cliff in their haste to escape us, leaving the formerly captured girl bruised, but fine.

...People were so weird.

* * *

Author's Notes: Conspirators dead! More callbacks because introspection is fun. The last quest, briefly mentioned here, is 'A Daughter Ransomed' and if you intimidate (fairly certain it's the intimidate response at least), a few will literally jump off, thinking that their odds of surviving that are much better. Technically, Esmerelle isn't here if you choose to deal with the conspirators via Dark Wolf ferreting information out, though the epilogue does mention that she hangs herself afterwards.

So, the phrase 'blow to kingdom come' references 'kingdom come', which is a phrase that appears in the Lord's Prayer, referencing heaven. That prayer doesn't exist in Thedas, so I did a variation, using 'the Black City' instead, since it was once the 'Seat of the Maker'.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Velanna


	17. Interlude - Velanna

Interlude - Velanna

* * *

She can almost laugh at… everything. Of all the people they could have encountered on the way to the marshes, they had run into a Dalish Clan. Her Clan. Her… former Clan. Who made it all too clear that she is not welcome among them. Who told her that Ilshae, her… her second mother even if they argued so much, had passed. As if her life could get any worse. First, she led her friends to their deaths, then Serrani had been kidnapped. Then she had been tricked into killing innocent people. Even if they were shemlen, and she _hated_ shemlen, there had been no reason to go after innocent people. All she had wanted was revenge for their attack on them! Revenge for the flames… for the injuries… for the deaths… She had been tired of just leaving. Of being the 'bigger person'. What was the point of being the 'bigger person' if all it got you was a blade in your back?!

Still, she had led them to their deaths. Ilshae is dead. She has no clan anymore. They will never welcome her back. They had made that perfectly clear.

The others in the group are quiet, and it makes her feel horribly awkward. But, at the same time, she sees that they're just being respectful. They recognize that she is hurting, in shock, and give her space while she figures out what she needs. They even came up with a good excuse to take a break, lunch. It is too early for it, but none of them had complained.

"Here." She blinks slowly at the voice and the mug suddenly in front of her face. "I just finished making some tea." She looks up and it takes her a moment to remember this shemlen's name. Nuada, with a bunch of titles that make little sense to her. "It's not as good as my sister's, but it should be palatable," he continues, smiling warmly. "Just ignore Oghren. He has no sense of taste."

"I always ignore him," she retorts. It's not exactly true, but the barb makes her feel a little better. "You have a sister?" She takes the mug from him and sips it. A bit too warm, and a bit weak for her tastes, but it is good.

"I have a younger twin, actually, like Cleon." Nuada silently asks if he can sit and she scoots over to let him. She hadn't needed to, since she is just sitting on the ground, but it's enough of an answer. "Her name is Elspeth. She's Fereldan's queen now."

"I see." She sips the tea again. "Did you come over just to give me the tea?"

"I wanted to give my sympathies as well." She almost retorts again, but he continues before she can. "I lost my mother during the Blight. When you were explaining to us earlier, I got the impression Keeper Ilshae was like a mother to you."

"...She was, yes." She studies Nuada a bit more, and notices for the first time the tiredness in his eyes, the sadness. "Did you happen to say harsh word to your mother, before she died?"

"No, I was lucky on that front. But I did leave her to die." His smile becomes bitter. "I'm… not recovered enough to really tell the story in full if I don't have to."

"Then don't." She wonders how someone could just leave another person to die, but the bitterness tells her that it's something he hates himself for. She thinks. She's never been the best with people. "...Thank you for the sympathy."

"Do you want to head back to the Keep?"

"No, I made a promise." She would work with the Wardens in exchange for being able to find her sister again. Seranni is all she has left now. "I'm not fragile."

"No, you're not. But I do know some of the dangers of pushing when you really want to break down." He pats her back and stands up again. "Nathaniel and Oghren are off on patrol, so we'll be resting for a while longer."

"Ma serannas." She nurses the tea and he leaves her be without another word. She watches him talk with Aiden, the… elf who leads the group. It confuses her. She had always thought the shemlen would rather die than let an elf order them. But she had seen shemlen defer to him numerous times back at the Keep, and she had heard of how skillfully he had led the armies during the Blight.

They continue talking for a while longer before Nuada leaves to do something and Aiden comes over to her. "I found this in the market," he explains, passing her a leatherbound book. She sets down her mug to flip through it, frowning when she notices all the pages are blank. "I will admit to buying it on a whim, but you told Layla you were envious of the stories humans have."

"They have many stories," she mutters. She hadn't meant to admit that, but Layla had a gentleness to her that just… made you talk. It reminds her a bit of Seranni, truthfully. "Many heroes. Do the elves have any, in the cities?"

"Well, we have Garahel, the slayer of the fourth Archdemon." He coughs awkwardly and looks away, a blush making his skin appear a darker red than normal. "I've been told Cleon and I have many stories about us now, in the Alienage."

"You deserve it." She fully believes that. Cleon is a hero to the Dalish, and she can see why Aiden would be one to the city elves. "But humans have so many."

"They do. But that's a discussion for another time." He smiles kindly. "The book is a journal. The pages are blank for you to write down things. Like stories." His smile warms as she stares. "The stories you do know of the past. The stories you learn in the future. Stories you even make up for the future. Whatever you wish. You can write them down in that, and keep them always."

He leaves her then, because Nuada had returned. She watches them talk again, noting how they signed even when Cleon is nowhere near, and then she looks at the journal. She runs her hands over the blank pages, already thinking of what she could write. Already wondering what stories she could….

'Stories connect us to the past, shaping a people in profound ways.' Ilshae had told her that, once. She also remembers something Merrill told her as well: 'It is a Keeper's job to remember.' She might be a Warden now, but perhaps she can still 'remember'. She no longer has a Clan, but perhaps she can still find and tell the stories that shape her people. Perhaps she can write down new ones, so that the elves do not forget their heroes.

She doesn't think she can be a hero, not like Cleon. But she can remember. She can write. She can keep the stories. It sounds rather nice, truthfully, and it is a good way to apply what Ilshae had taught her. It is… it is a good way, to honor her memory, and to find her own atonement for all of this. So, she finds a pen in her bag and begins writing, sipping the tea and feeling her mind settle at last.

Yes, this is something she can do. So, she would.

* * *

Author's notes: Velanna's companion quest! It triggers with a random encounter while traveling with her (though, since it is random, some are unable to actually trigger the thing). The black journal is her plot gift, born from how she mentions she is envious of the stories humans have.

Next Chapter - Blackmarsh with Aiden


	18. Chapter 14) Blackmarsh

Chapter 14) Blackmarsh

 _Aiden POV_

* * *

 _So, they push forward, as is their job. There's an ass in the throne and they're getting funds. They're getting help. It's a good day. It's a very good day. So, why does he feel uneasy? Old instincts, of course, but what? He knows something is wrong, but he can't see it._

" _Kardol!" He turns at his name, and nods at Renn as he meanders up. "Darkspawn lines are abnormal," Renn reports. He closes his eyes, grimacing. "It's like they can think. But the Archdemon is gone."_

" _Never a dull day," he replies. He wonders what's going on with the Wardens. Have they seen the same? He should try to get a message out. Maybe even to that Aiden lad. "Let's go."_

" _On it."_

* * *

The Blackmarsh. Dark, damp, and filled with twisted trees. You couldn't see the sun. You could barely see your hand in front of your face. It was, in many ways, a place very suiting of its name.

"This is an unnatural place," Velanna whispered as we walked down the path. She conjured up a few globes of light to help Nathaniel and Lord Nuada walk see the path. Elves had better dark vision than humans, as did dwarves. Though, I noticed Oghren's didn't glint like a cat's, like how my eyes did and Velanna's. "The Veil is thin and spirits are abound. We must be wary."

"So, it's a big magic thing, right?" Oghren asked. He had to pause to pull his foot out of the muck. "Messing things up again?"

"Extremely big." She sighed. "My people say this place used to be lush, beautiful, until some unnatural perversion occured. I thought they were exaggerating."

"Seems like whenever there's trouble on the surface, it's magic or darkspawn."

"You forgot politics, Oghren," Lord Nuada added. He almost ran into a low-hanging branch on his right, but Nathaniel darted ahead to push it up for him. Lord Nuada nodded and Nathaniel fell into step on his right. "As someone who lived in Orzammar, I'm surprised you forgot it."

"Oh, everything is politics, including magic and darkspawn idiocy," Oghren retorted instantly. He got stuck again and I helped him get himself free. Velanna hesitantly used magic to firm up the ground, frowning heavily. "Say, when did everything go weird here?"

"Just before the Rebellion, if I recall my studies correctly," Nathaniel explained. He smiled wryly, looking about. Nothing had met us yet, which seemed unusual to me. "I used to dream about coming to the marsh and setting things right. Little boy dreams."

"Well, now you're here to… do whatever weird shit happens." Oghren shrugged at the dirty looks thrown his way. "It's us. Something absolutely bizarre is going to happen."

"I wish you were a little less right," I sighed. I ducked under another branch and waited for Velanna's magic to ensure we didn't get stuck in the muck. Again. "How long ago was the Rebellion?"

"Officially, it started in 8:44 Blessed and lasted until 9:02 Dragon," Lord Nuada rattled off easily. "So, it lasted fifty-eight years." Lord Nuada smiled warmly when I gave him a weird look. "The Second Orlesian Invasion started in 8:24, ordered by Emperor Reville, the 'Mad Emperor'. It lasted twenty years, and then the rebellion more or less started as soon as Orlais claimed victory." He shrugged. "Though, the story could mean shortly before Queen Moira took over. That's when full insurrection started. The most famous battles were, of course, after her assassination in 8:96."

"I was trying to place how long ago everything went wrong here, you know. For curiosity's sake."

"Sadly, I can't tell you that one, but the absolute earliest would be thirty-five years ago. The maximum would be around eighty-seven years." Lord Nuada almost said more, but sighed as he also managed to get stuck. "I feel like I'm going to bathe for a week once we're out of here. A nice warm bath."

"Won't it go cold quickly?"

"Layla can heat up the water again. It's nice."

"I'm… Oh, for…" I rolled my eyes and Lord Nuada laughed. "Not sure I needed to know you two take baths together."

"We don't. Our schedules tend to be too busy for that." He struggled to get his foot out of the mud. "But she _hates_ cold baths and will use magic to keep them warm." He sighed and held out his hand. I took it and had to dig my heels in to pull him out. "Okay, that's it." He turned to Velanna. "The whole 'turning mud to stone' thing is absolutely lovely. Is it safe for you to continue doing so?"

"It seems to be, yes," Velanna answered slowly. She frowned at the magic in her hands, clearly studying it. "My magic is not fluctuating too much either, despite the unknown energy of the place."

"In that case, do you mind going ahead with Nathaniel to scout and limit the chances of us getting stuck in the mud?" I requested. She frowned, but nodded. "Oghren, go with them as well, just in case we get ambushed. Both are long-ranged fighters."

"Figures that the darkspawn would pick somewhere wet and muddy," Oghren grumbled, already moving forward. "I better not lose a boot." Of course, not two seconds later, Oghren suddenly yelped. I moved quickly forward, but found nothing within sight. "I thought I saw a… um…" He coughed in embarrassment, and I desperately tried to bite back a smile. Someone was jumpy. "Ahem. Anyway."

"Thank you."

"Right, right." Oghren went ahead, with Nathaniel and Velanna following closely. I noted with amusement that Nathaniel had actually started teasing Velanna, taking advantage of the fact that Velanna had some difficulties recognizing sarcasm. It definitely flustered her, and I knew I should probably make sure it didn't turn to bullying, but for right now, it was amusing.

However, it didn't escape me that Lord Nuada made no effort to keep up with them. Instead, he kept perfect pace with me, waiting until they had disappeared from sight. "So, you have been off lately," he began softly. He nudged my side and smiled. "Are you up for talking about it now or would you rather wait a little longer?"

"Mmm, no, I think I can talk about it now," I whispered. Still, I felt myself slump at the memory. "When we were with the talking darkspawn in the mines, they made a mention of how… odd I was." I brought up my hand, staring at my wrists. The veins. The blood within. "It mentioned that the Taint was stronger in me, but the 'cost' was halved. That I wasn't anymore of an elf than _it_." I clenched my fist, remembering. "I suppose it's right. What elf can punch someone's head clean off?"

"I see." Lord Nuada fell silent, closing his eyes to think. I tried to not fidget. "Well, I can see why that would shake you. The skill is unusual, and we still need to bug whatever his name is about what else there might be."

"You haven't met Avernus, have you?"

"No, I went to Ostagar and fought undead-Duncan." He shuddered at the memory and I winced. Duncan had deserved much better. "Regardless, though, you are a more powerful Warden, in many ways, and I'm sure the other Wardens will yell at us, again, as soon as they learn."

"Yeah…"

"That all said…" He suddenly grinned. "You are in _very_ fine company when it comes to being weird. Fine, by the way, being used in multiple senses of the word." He winked and I choked on a laugh. "But, think about it. Layla has the memory of an ancient elf in her head. We get _lots_ of useful information, and she's eagerly compiling what bits she's gathered to give to the Dalish, but you have to admit that is pretty weird."

"Well, yes…"

"We also destroyed a Blight in less than a year, and we have Wardens breathing down our necks for explanations on how we did that, and how Cleon survived. We're also very involved in politics, which is unusual…" He made a face. "To use myself as an example, and to whine a little, I don't think there's been a Warden-Constable Teryn Champion. I might as well be a Pentaghast with how long it'll take to announce me at formal things. Well, granted, I am actually related, but that is neither here nor there."

"I have no idea how you're not dead yet from the paperwork."

"That would be years of experience helping me out." He shrugged, unbothered, but I frowned a little worriedly. I wasn't sure that actually made me feel better. "Many would consider Cleon weird just for being a Dalish who is well regarded. You can be considered weird without the whole punching business for a similar reason. We all know how society is."

"Are you going to list off every way our little group of four is weird?"

"Well, I was planning on going to the rest of our friends, and to our new companions, but I think you get the point." He made a face suddenly. "Though, that might not actually be comforting. Hang on; let me..."

"No, it is, though perhaps not in the way you originally intended." I smiled warmly at him, just… grateful. His first reaction had been to reassure me, both that I wasn't overreacting and then by reminding me that I wasn't alone. "Even with this weirdness, you stand with me."

"Considering my life, Aiden, it will take more than weirdness to make me leave. I'm honestly not sure you can do anything to make me leave, actually, so long as you remain yourself. A strange echoing roar cut him short, and he looked down the path where the others had gone. Which also happened to be where the sound came from. "What in Andraste's name did they do?"

"So quick to assume that they did something." I laughed at his droll look. "Yes, I know. It's us. Of course something happened." I made sure my Vigilance was out, and he made sure his sword and shield were in hand. "Let's go."

We both raced down the path, following the paths that weren't muddy. We ended up climbing a bit of a hill, looking a bit over the area. In the distance, I thought I caught shadows of buildings, but I didn't focus on them. Instead, I focused on not getting stuck on the path or, worse, falling off. We made it to a clearing, one surprisingly devoid of any vegetation and mud, but my mind didn't focus much on that. Instead, it focused on the giant dragon, glowing white in the darkness and strangely skeletal, that was in the middle of the clearing. It… it looked like a ghost. Except… except it was a dragon. It was a ghost dragon. A. Ghost. Dragon. And Oghren, Velanna, and Nathaniel were fighting it.

"What in the name of everything holy and not did you all do?!" I snapped as soon as I got my wits about me. I rolled out of the way of the lightning it breathed out for some damn reason and nearly got clawed by… well, its claws. Lord Nuada, however, got in the way, grunting as he blocked it with his shield. I jumped out around him to try and cut off the claw, but it quickly reformed when I did. "Seriously, what did you do!?"

"Bah, don't worry about it for now, lad!" Oghren laughed. He somehow managed to climb up one of the nearby rock walls and used the height to jump and bring his axe down on the ghost-dragon's head. "Nothing gets the blood pumping like a dragon fight!"

"When did you ever fight a dragon before this?!"

"Some end up in the Deep Roads! They like caves!" The dragon tossed its head and sent Oghren into the air. He twisted, though, and landed on the 'wing'. And promptly fell threw because _it was a freaking ghost_. "Oof!"

"Nathaniel, focus on the eyes!" Lord Nuada snapped. He slid in the mud and protected Oghren from being stepped on. I saw his face twist in pain and I lunged to slice through its neck. No blood, but it did jerk back. "Hopefully, it'll at least have an instinctive reaction like it did there. Velanna!" Lord Nuada jumped back to avoid the dragon trying to bite him. "Velanna, you alive?"

"I am!" Velanna replied. She pulled rocks from the ground to form a shield as the dragon tried to strike her. Nathaniel, meanwhile, flitted about the edges, firing arrows and disappearing into the shadows again. Almost like Cleon, truthfully. "What is it?"

"Velanna, do you have any spells from the Spirit School?"

"It _is_ a spirit!"

"It's shooting damn lighting and those types of dragons always have a weakness to spirit spells!" Lord Nuada knocked the dragon's claw to the side. I took advantage of the opening to sink Vigilance to the hilt on its side. Oghren jumped off my back to smash the wing. "So will you answer my question or not?!"

"I've… I've a couple?"

"Use those!" Lord Nuada ducked past another swipe of its claws. "Oh, I'm going to regret this." He let his guard down briefly and let the dragon claw him. I nearly yelled, but when he looked up, I saw his silver eye had slitted pupils for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. Reaver. He'd wanted the Reaver's strength. "Nathaniel, is it flinching from arrows?"

"It is!" Nathaniel yelled back. His voice was almost sourceless, just 'from the shadows'. I had a feeling he was better trained as an assassin than we'd originally thought. "Hang on…!" An arrow beautifully arced over our heads and landed _deep_ into the dragon's eye. It screeched loud enough to rattle my ears and screamed even louder when some sort of bolt appeared out of nowhere. Some spell of Velanna's, I assumed.

Regardless, it reared back and I glanced at Nuada. He nodded and a flicker of red-black flame wrapped around his blade before turning into a bright light. I focused and called on the same, feeling the power pulse within me, just as Alistair taught us. The Wrath of Heaven… a templar trick. Good against demons, abominations, mages… and hopefully ghosts.

The two of us struck simultaneously, me hitting with all my strength just as Oghren taught me and him striking with the power granted from being a Reaver. We carved out a hole into the dragon's chest and it reformed, making me think that it didn't work at all. But then the form flickered. Once… twice… it roared as it desperately tried to stay together. But, soon, its form dissipated into tiny globes of light that scattered about on the wind. Dead. I hoped.

"Well, that's another weird thing we can add to our list of 'what in Andraste's blood is our lives?'," Lord Nuada noted dryly. His voice was a little thin from pain and he had the most exasperated look I had seen on his face in a long while. "We just killed a ghost dragon. Somehow. Seriously, _what did you do_?" He rounded on the others and then focused entirely on Oghren. Oghren grinned and awkwardly waved a bit. "Start now. I am _so_ very curious."

This was going to be fun to watch.

* * *

It turned out to be a complete accident. They had found some bones and had moved them to the side to properly burn, just in case some spirit tried to create undead. Something that made sense, considering that the Veil was thin and I knew from Redcliffe and Soldier's Peak what _that_ meant. However, somehow, bringing the bones together actually led to a ghost being summoned and, unlike all the other ghosts I'd seen, it tried to kill us. I didn't even know how to begin trying to understand that. I really didn't. It was almost a relief when we came across darkspawn because they, at least, made some sense. Almost, because I finally met the Children, which were even creepier than described, and there were _freaking blighted werewolves_. The normal ones were bad enough!

"Well, this has been such an invigorating trip through the marsh," Nathaniel noted as we walked down the path slowly. All of us were on edge thanks to the blighted werewolves that appeared from freaking nowhere and Velanna was still turning the ground to stone to keep us from being stuck in the mud. "Never thought I'd see a werewolf in my life."

"Normal ones are a little more communicative," I noted absently. I shrugged at his weird look. "Brecilian forest. When we were getting help from the Dalish, we ended up ending a werewolf curse. So, maybe they weren't very normal, actually." I wondered how that Clan was doing. They'd moved to the settlement in the Hinterlands, from what I could remember. "Regardless, they didn't appear from the shadows and they had fur on their heads."

"Dare I ask what other odd things you fought?"

"Well, most would consider the Archdemon an 'odd' thing to fight." I gave him a dirty look. "Most would also consider _spectrel dragons_ weird."

"Point made." He smiled sheepishly and ducked back to save Velanna from whatever she was talking to Oghren about. I heard something about 'dwarves are born from rocks' and decided to stay as far away from it as I could.

Instead, I fell in step with Lord Nuada, who was thinking aloud about something. "There was a lot of lightning, though… hmm…" he began, frowning. HIs hands moved through the air almost like he was flipping through a book. "Could it have been a vinsomer? Wait, no, they prefer isolated areas that are rocky, like the Storm Coast or that island to the north of the coast. It could've been a gamordan stormrider, actually. They prefer swamp like areas for their territory. Though, I thought they mostly prefered Orlais, given that they show up in artwork there a lot. Of course, they do fly." He hummed a little in thought and, again, his hand moved almost like he was flipping through a book. "Wait, maybe it had been a northern hunter? I think they like fens and… what was the difference between a fen and a marsh? It was something about sediment."

"It is fascinating watching you think aloud," I finally said, unable to keep quiet. "It really is.

"I'm impressed that I kept it all to one language and didn't get caught on a word." He grinned at me, unbothered. He must've been paying more attention to his surroundings than I thought. "Don't mind me. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of dragon that was." He paused suddenly, frowning. "Wait, though… dragon… oh, wow, I'm an idiot."

"I won't disagree, but why are you saying that?"

"There was a dragon. This age was named the Dragon Age due to the sudden reappearance of dragons after it was previously believed they were hunted to extinction." He looked annoyed now. "In 8:99 Blessed, dragons suddenly reappeared in Antiva and devastated rural Orlais and Nevarra. At the same time, another dragon was sighted on the Orlesian side of the Frostback Mountains, shortly before the Battle of the River Dance, actually."

"So, assuming it wasn't a strange, isolated incident that never truly spread, then the village likely fell to ruin shortly before the _end_ of the Rebellion?"

"It could be that the dragon's appearance was unusual, but still, considering everything… though, things have always been a little weird. It could have been an isolated incident. Maybe." Lord Nuada hummed a bit, some song I didn't recognize. "You know; this age was originally supposed to be dubbed the Sun Age, named for the Orlesian Empire. Then the dragons appeared and it was predicted this age would be an age of violence and upheaval."

"...Considering the damn _Blight_ we had…" I'd say that prediction was unfortunately true.

"We live in interesting times and…" Lord Nuada suddenly tripped and had to skip a bit to not fall on his face. His foot had gotten caught in some mud. "Oh, we're too far ahead of Velanna." He stopped and turned and I saw that Nathaniel, Oghren, and Velanna were a noticeable ways away. "We need to work on that isolation thing we've been doing, but it's so hard."

"I suppose." I had to think for a moment before realizing he was more than a little right. It was either 'on the job' or 'stay near the other three senior Wardens who are basically my family'. Not a good way to learn and form bonds with your own people. "Enough of dragons, though." I decided to keep on walking, and he followed without a complaint. "Philosophize on something else."

"Well, I _do_ have other questions." Lord Nuada grinned when I groaned. "It has to deal with genlocks."

"We're philosophizing about darkspawn now?"

"Well, we know that genlocks are born from broodmothers who were once dwarves." He paused when I winced and I had to cover my mouth to keep from being nauseous. The broodmother in the Deep Roads… Branka… that whole thing haunted me even now. "Do you want me to stop?"

"Are you going to continue with the broodmother?"

"No, it was just meant as the starting point." He waited until I nodded. "So, dwarves can't use magic, yes? They are separated from the Fade and do not dream or use magic."

"Yes, I think I know that."

"In that case, though, why can genlocks use magic?" He frowned thoughtfully, and I ducked under a low hanging branch. "Why is it that you have powerful… ack!" Lord Nuada, however, didn't notice the branch and, while he didn't run into it, he did get his hair tangled in it. "Why is my hair long again?"

"I don't have a clue. I cut mine the first chance I got." I helped him untangle it. "Though, perhaps that's the forest's way of saying that you're thinking too much."

"You think there's a spirit here, like the Brecilian Forest?" Lord Nuada looked around and I did as well, frowning as I thought of the Lady of the Forest. If there was a spirit here, I had no doubts it was sobbing and bleeding, unlike her. "Anyway, you asked!"

"Of course. How dare I." I grinned and he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's walk a little more before walking and…" We rounded a corner in the path and froze at the strange green light shimmering in the air right in front of us. "Okay. That's new."

Lord Nuada didn't even reply. He used a 'spell purge' templar trick, to see if there was any ambient magic that could screw us over and stepped back, tugging me with him. We waited patiently for the other three, who sensed something was wrong and jogged up, not bothering to transfigure the ground. All three froze with us at the sight of the light and Nathaniel actually shot an arrow at it. There was a brief flash and either the arrow disappeared or splintered into thousands of pieces because there was absolutely no sign of the arrow afterwards. It was just gone.

"It's a tear in the Veil," Velanna murmured at last. She approached cautiously and crouched down to peer at it. "The spirit realm is close to use here, but no demons yet. The tear might be too thin for them, but it can explain why the spirit of that dragon remained bound to the bones."

" _Can_ demons slip through a tear in the Veil?" I asked softly. I rested a hand on her shoulder and tugged her back a bit. She didn't fight me. "I mean… I've heard of rips and undead, but…"

"Oh, yes. If there is a big enough one, it will actually pull the spirits through." She shuddered at the thought. "I can't imagine the chaos that would result from a hole like that."

"Is it foolish to hope we don't see it?" I helped Velanna up and looked around, finding another path. "Let's head this way, then. I take it we want to avoid the tears?"

"Only if you like living."

"Avoiding, then."

The five of us made sure to stay together from then on, no one straying any farther than arm's length. If we had been children, we might've held hands, but of course we didn't. We had to keep our weapons out, ready for anything. Any demon. Any darkspawn. Anything. But we didn't find any of them. We just continued walking through, feeling more and more uneasy as we wandered about. Eventually, we came upon the ruins of the old village, broken shambles of houses and gardens overgrown with weeds. Rotting wood and rusted metal. Smells that hinted what few animals remained took up residence here. Strangely, the manor itself looked blackening, like it had been set aflame, and the gates to it were locked shut.

"Nature should have reclaimed this place long ago," Velanna whispered. She rested a hand on one ruined building, frowning at it. "There is something else here. This was the source of the disturbance, and the magic continues to echo."

"That building or this village?" I asked, signalling the others to disperse and look around. I crouched by the ruined building and pulled out a stained and ripped doll. "Both?"

"Mmm… it's hard to say." Velanna looked to the blackened manner and gestured something towards her. The wind began blowing, and I caught the distinct smell of char. "I think the manor might've been the focal point."

"You can control the wind?"

"I can… mmm…" She frowned, clearly trying to figure out how to explain. "Nothing controls the wind, but I can use my magic to ask it to come my way? Does that make sense?"

"I think so." It made enough. "So, the manor there." I looked towards it, and noticed Nathaniel, Lord Nuada, and Oghren were nowhere in sight. "Do I want to take a wild guess and say 'blood magic'?"

"I can't think of another way to get the massive amount of power, unless whatever mage was here had a mountain of lyrium to burn." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Blood magic. Vile thing."

"Mistress Layla's a blood mage." I stood slowly, not bothering to look at her. "She learned to save a little boy's life, and now works to determine ways to use it in tandem with healing magic. And fighting. I think she's used it a few times to make her body move 'properly' for one of her Arcane Warrior tricks." Now I looked at Velanna and saw her stunned look. "We're very weird folk, and we went through some very weird things. All I ask is that you try to keep an open mind, Velanna."

"...Fine." She scowled and looked down. "Still, whoever was here…"

"Was very vile, yes. I was more bringing it up so that you don't accidentally insult Mistress Layla. She's still learning to be comfortable with that magic." I patted Velanna on the shoulder. "We should find…?" I paused as I saw Nathaniel racing for us. "Or Nathaniel can find us? What's wrong?"

"Oghren found a camp," Nathaniel explained, sliding to a stop. His expression was carefully stoic, and that gave me a giant hint of what we're about to find. "This way."

Nathaniel led us quickly and easily down a path away from the village, pushing aside branches to make sure we didn't clonk ourselves in the head on accident. Before long, we came upon a campsite with a few belongings scattered about, a fire pit filled with charcoal, and a single man off to the side. He wore armor and there was a bloody sword and shield not far from his hands. Unseeing eyes stared out into nothing. Well, here was the missing Warden. Deader than a doornail. Because _of course_ , he was.

"He's been dead for a while," Lord Nuada noted, studying the corpse. Oghren was going through Kristoff's belongings, likely trying to find some sort of hint. "There's more rot than I'd expect, but maybe it's because of how damp everything is. There's some skin maceration, I think." He glanced up at me before returning to poking the body. "It's probably been a few days, though. I imagine he was dead within hours of arriving."

"Why do you know so much about corpses, Nuada?" Nathaniel asked. He kept an eye on our perimeter, frowning at something. "That's not standard knowledge."

"I lived in Nevarra. I learned about death as part of their standard curriculum, and then learned more to impress the nobles and make things easier for Father." Lord Nuada shrugged. "Death plays an important part in their culture. Though, the art is phenomenal. I really must talk more about the art, and the festivals!" He sighed gustily. I began noticing a slight presence in my head and looked around, trying to determine the source. "It has such wonderful festivals."

"Some days, I wonder if you hit your head, Nuada."

"It's less of a problem than the darkspawn attempting to surround us." Lord Nuada jumped to his feet, sword and shield in hand. "At least, that's what I'm guessing by what I sense."

"You know; I was hoping I was wrong," I murmured, moving backwards and bringing Vigilance out. All of us clustered around the dead campfire, watching the darkspawn slowly crawl out of the muck and trees. They'd been hiding against the ground. Clever. "Opinions on what to do?"

"If you give me twenty seconds, I can figure out something," Lord Nuada whispered. He shifted so that he was near Oghren and Velanna. I gathered he'd make the plan with their help.

So, I focused solely on the darkspawn, noticing they weren't striking. After a moment, another darkspawn, one wearing surprisingly fine armor, stepped out of the wood. "Yes, that is your Grey Warden," the darkspawn hissed. I narrowed my eyes, already guessing what happened. "The Mother told it to me that if it was lured to this place, and slain, you would come." Well, there was the 'Mother' that the 'Children' implied.

"I suppose I should feel flattered she wants us dealt with that badly," I retorted. I had my greatsword 'at rest' in front of me. Lord Nuada had his sword and shield at the ready. Oghren was clearly only waiting for us to strike, as were Nathaniel and Velanna. Nathaniel had actually turned to aim his arrow straight at the talking darkspawn's head. "It's a fun little trap, but surely, there's more to it than this." There were a few darkspawn, but not a lot. We could handle this number, easily. I hoped. "What do you call yourself?"

"I, here before you, am the First." The first of what, I wondered. It didn't matter, but I was curious. "And I am bringing to you a message."

"And that is?"

"The Mother is not permitting you to further _his_ plans."

"Not involved in anyone's plans but my own, so if I am furthering something, it's entirely accidental." 'His'… I wondered if that was the talking darkspawn I saw in the mines.

"She knows it might not be on purpose. So, she is bidding me to give you a gift."

It held out its hand, turned it slightly, and I suddenly felt… I felt both horrifically ill and unimaginably powerful. Black and green light rippled around its fingers, and I heard a terrible singing in my head, far different than the Archdemon's song. My vision went white and all I could hear was that terribly mournful song, echoing on and on and on...

Cleon and Mistress Layla were going to kill us.

* * *

Author's note: Last of the main quests, and often the last one people do, since you can end otherwise, you can end up being unable to recruit Velanna and Sigrun (endgame stuff will take precedence over their Joinings iirc). Couple of heart to hearts, couple of bits of foreshadowing to Inquisition… Renn is a character that shows up in _The Descent_ DLC for Inquisition, where it's mentioned he was a veteran of the Fifth Blight.

Also, have the Queen of the Blackmarsh fight. The fight technically has two phases, but I just did the one for convenience. Typically, you can only do this after completing the main quest here, mostly because one of the bones in an area you only access after the boss fight iirc, but we did it before for fun. She's immune to lightning in her first stage (the non-orb stage) and has a lightning breath, so I gave her the vulnerability to spirit damage, much like the dragons in Inquisition. In game, you have to fight her to get one of the key components to Vigilance, but Aiden already has it.

The three types of dragons Nuada lists off are three of the high dragons you can kill in Inquisition, the three that use lightning breath. The vinsomer is the one you fight in the Storm Coast (after clearing Red Water), the gamordan stormrider is fought in the Exalted Plains (and is specifically noted to prefer swamp areas, probably because the water is very useful for conducting her lightning breath, and the northern hunter is fought in Crestwood (in the Black Fens region).

Blighted werewolves are, indeed, one of the creatures you encounter in the marsh, and they have the ability to stealth. It is a pain in the ass seeing your rogue die in one shot because they decided to use their Overwhelm ability from stealth, let me tell you.

Elves and dwarves having better dark vision than humans comes from supplementary material, as does the whole 'the eyes of elves glint in the dark'.

Next Chapter - Fade with Nuada


	19. Chapter 15) The Baroness

Chapter 15) The Baroness

 _Nuada POV_

* * *

 _Quietly, he begins preparing for his yearly trip to Ansburg to visit family. Once, long ago, he thought he'd simply stay there, though Eamon had convinced him to be the Bann of Rainsfere. And now, Eamon had another favor to ask… to be Arl of Redcliffe. Connor couldn't inherit. He was a mage and mages couldn't inherit. Considering the changes Alistair (King Alistair, and he's so startled by it) is making, they might've made an exception. Lady Layla, after all, was a mage and would rule Amaranthine. And, no doubt, would be the Teyrna of Gwaren before long, considering Nuada (another change he never expected because there are so, so many)._

 _Everything is different. Nothing is the same. The Blight might've been 'short' compared to others, but it had changed Fereldan forever. Honestly, it changed all of Thedas, because now, Fereldan has a reputation for the impossible. The tiny nation threw off Orlais's rule and now, destroyed a Blight before the rest of the world even knew what was wrong. The political landscape will never be the same._

 _Part of him longs to just leave it behind, to aspire to fighting in the Grand Tourney as he did in his youth. But he can't. He made his choices long ago, and now… well, he's still making choices. But he'll do what is best for his home. That's all he's ever really wanted._

* * *

We were in the Fade. Of all the things that could've happened, we were trapped in the Fade. Again. Well, _I_ was trapped in the Fade again. Everyone else was trapped in the Fade for the first time. So, we wandered, trying to get our bearings somehow, and came across some strange apparatus that, apparently, had been the source of the Veil tearing. We managed to disrupt it and now all waited while Velanna used that journal Aiden gave her to take copious notes on the thing. The construction made her wonder if it was some sort of elven artifact, though it was possible it was some human construction done to mess things up. It was _also_ possible that it was elven that humans stole and claimed as their own. It wasn't like there wasn't precedence for it.

But, regardless, Velanna wanted to talk notes on it, so we all rested. Aiden and Nathaniel helped Velanna while also keeping an eye on the area, and I was patting Oghren's back as he attempted to get past a wave of dizziness. Being in the Fade, when he wasn't 'supposed' to be because he was a dwarf, resulted in him having a longer adaptation time. As I helped him, I found myself looking around for 'Garahel' again, half-hoping he was there so that I could ask questions. But I didn't see 'him'. Somehow, I doubted that there would ever be an answer to whether or not that had been the 'real' Garahel who had helped us.

"I think I finally feel like I didn't drink all the alcohol in Tapster's in an hour," Oghren finally sighed. He straightened and rubbed at his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off another headache. "Ancestors' tits, no wonder non-dwarves are insane. Just look at the damn place."

"To be fair, _most_ people only come here in their dreams," I half-defended. I couldn't say I was much happier at being here either. "I'm rather surprised you get dizzy from alcohol though, Oghren."

"I was young once. Took a while for the liver to adapt. And Tapster's has a lot of alcohol." He shrugged and looked around slowly, taking it all in. "Though, something else has been bothering me." He looked up at me seriously. "They're called 'the Children'. Might just be a cutesy thing, but children _grow_."

"That is…" I… I didn't like that implication. ""You think they're…"

"They're like maggots, but here's the thing. Maggots are larva, right? They turn into flies?" He took a swig from his flask and offered it to me. "Maybe these Children are the same."

"Oh, that is not a fun thought." I decided to take the offered drink, and was rather startled that I recognized the taste. "Is this West Hill Brandy?"

"Had it before, have you?" He took his flask back with a grin. "Cleon got me some. It's not as strong as what I had been drinking. Figured it would help with cutting back some, like you suggested. Course, I've still got my habits."

"Of course." But it did make me feel better. He'd probably always be the drunk, but… "So, you're better?"

"As well as I can be." He shrugged and moved towards the others. "How are you lot?"

"I'm thinking that it is no wonder dreams never make sense," Nathaniel answered easily. He looked around, laughing softly. "This world is strange."

"Welcome to the Fade," I said, trying to keep my voice light. I really didn't like being here. "I have to handle it to the Mother." I glanced over at Velanna and Aiden, still working. Oghren went to bother-tease them. "This wasn't something any of us expected."

"Still, quite the effort for a trap." Nathaniel frowned thoughtfully, eyes narrowed as he looked around. "I wonder why this Mother went through so much trouble?"

"We know there's a Civil War among the Darkspawn, so I'm guessing the two sides are the 'He' and the Mother." And here we were, the unpredictable ones once again.

"The 'He' is likely the Architect the Lost mentioned in the Deep Roads, by the way." He gestured at the burn scar on his neck. "Do you remember?"

"Honestly, no, I didn't really. I was a little more concerned about how close to death we all got." Still, the reminder of 'the Architect' and 'the Mother' made me think of a couple of things. One was wondering if this Mother was a broodmother who somehow gained sentience, like the First and Lost we had encountered. Then I wondered why the phrase 'the Architect' sounded familiar. It was an old familiarity, like it was something I had heard when I was younger, but I couldn't place it. It was such a generic phrase, yet still…

"Lord Nuada?" With a start, I whirled to see Aiden looking at me weirdly. "We were trying to determine what to do next," he prompted. I smiled sheepishly, noticing that all of them were giving me worried or weird looks. They must've been trying to get my attention for a while. "What do you think?"

"Based on what happened last time…" I began. I crossed my arms and thought, trying to remember. "My guess is that this is someone's area and we have to kill the 'ruler' of the area. It's what we had to do with Sloth back at the Tower. But, hey, we're not all separated and we don't have to run around saving people from mental prisons." The Mother had just wanted us stuck in the Fade.

"Wait, what did you mean 'last time'?" Nathaniel asked incredulously. He facepalmed when I shrugged. After all, it was exactly what it sounded like. "You all went through _weird_ shit."

"Yes, we did, so let's get moving." Of course, when we started off, I had to pause because I thought I was bleeding. But when I checked, I saw that it wasn't the case, just a trick of the weird light. Besides, Layla refused to let me leave until I was perfectly cleared.

Aiden waited for me, tilting his head curiously. "Is everything okay?" he asked. I nodded and waved away the concern. It really wasn't anything. "So, did you and Cleon mean to forget about this 'Architect'? Nathaniel told me while you were staring off into space."

"I was thinking and no, we didn't," I replied, shrugging. It was annoying that I had forgotten that. "In my defense, I was in a lot of pain and very distracted."

"You didn't let her use healing magic until a day or so after you got back." He frowned at me. "Why?"

"Why didn't you have her use magic?"

"I was still a little on edge from everything, and just… didn't want to deal with it." It was probably stupid and illogical, though thankfully, Layla just went with it. But it was less the healing magic and more letting me keep some sort of 'control' during the healing process. I wasn't helpless. I could react, and I could weigh in.

Aiden gave me an odd look, one that said he didn't quite understand but that he wasn't going to press, and changed the subject. "Speaking of 'on edge', Lord Nuada…" He smiled kindly. "Are you all right?"

"We're trapped in the Fade."

"And you try to hide it, but I see how you're paler than normal and I can hear how your tone is snappier." He grinned at my annoyed look. "We've spent too much time together."

"Never. But you do read me far too well." I sighed and reached back to fix my ponytail. I really should braid it or something to keep it from getting caught. "Sloth was… honestly, Aiden, some days, I wake up thinking that I'm still there. I know, logically, that I could never dream most of this, but…"

"You mentioned prisons. None of you talked much about what happened _in_ the Fade."

"Sloth demons are named because they urge people to rest, to stop, to laze away." Ponytail fixed, I fiddled with the strands by my face, needing to do _something_ with my hands. Normally, I'd sign, but… "So, we were all imprisoned in… well, Wynne got a damn nightmare, but the rest of us had nice dreams." I could still see it if I closed my eyes. I could still see waking up to Mother's fretting. I could still see all of us laughing. "Mine was a good dream, a happy dream. It was also an impossible dream." I could never have it again. So many people in that dream were dead. "So, even though my duty dictated otherwise, no small part of me wanted to stay." I shook my head, desperate to get the memory out of my head. "But I made my promises and, so, I left."

"And what about now?" Aiden looked at me seriously. "What would you do?"

"Of course. But hypothetically. Would you stay?"

"...No. No, I wouldn't." I smiled softly, closing my eyes. "Craziness and trauma aside, I actually have a very good life. What family I have left is wonderful, I have very dear friends, and I somehow managed to catch the eye of a person I love very, very much."

"It's not all bad, is it? Despite everything we went through. All the pain and exhaustion."

"That is exactly it." I looked up to see the others were waiting for us. "Ah, I'm sorry. Aiden was being a worrywart and…" I trailed off as I realized they weren't 'waiting' for us, so much as they had to stop and stare. There, just down the hill, was a surprisingly beautiful village, one that looked a lot like the ruins we saw in the marsh.

Oh, this was going to be annoying.

* * *

This was the Blackmarsh village. This was it, complete with people. This was absolute madness. Why was it here? How? There were so many questions and part of me wanted to know. The other part of me was just going 'screw everything, I want to go home'.

"So, the village exists, just beyond the Veil," Velanna murmured as we walked down a side path, safely out of sight. She rested a hand on one of the buildings and looked around. "I can see the paths easily."

"Glad you can, since we're walking around a magical dream village," Oghren groaned. He took another swing from his flask, and passed it to Aiden and me when we silently asked. "I've had it with this touchy-feely head trip. If I wanted to go all fuzzy, I'd have something like Aqua Magus."

"What even is that?"

"Alcohol-lyrium cocktail."

"Someone remind me to get him some _aquae lucidius_ ," I murmured, mostly to divert attention away from Velanna's surprised squawk. "I want to see that."

"Make sure I'm around," Nathaniel added with a small laugh. He and I shared a grin; it was fairly popular for youths in the Free Marches and Orlais to sneak some. "Honestly, it might be fun to make everyone try some."

"Well, it wouldn't be to force, but still, I'd love to see through time again." We both started snickering at Aiden and Velanna's 'oh, Maker/Creators, why are we with these weird humans/shemlen?' looks. Oghren just looked intrigued. "What's the plan?"

"I suppose we continue on," Aiden suggested after a moment. He looked around again, frowning. "It can't… nope. Nope, not even going to say it."

Despite Aiden cutting himself off, things did, in fact, get weirder. As we slowly made our way through the village, we saw people acting out parts of their lives. Some people reacted to guards who no longer existed. Others held conversations from before, like they were nothing more than remnants. Layla had told me about this, how the Fade would 'echo' the memories of the world, but still, it was unnerving to watch.

"The mansion will not protect you, fiend!" A booming voice eventually drowned out all the echoes, though, and as we came across a giant, gated manor, we found a large crowd. Some of the people were even in armor. "Come out and face your crime!" The speaker, however, wasn't like the rest of the crowd. They were transparent, for one thing, and that alone told me that this was a Spirit.

"She hides!" someone else shouted. This was a woman with shortish hair, and she didn't seem to be 'acting out' anything. Instead, she was reacting to what was around her. All of the crowd was like that. "Break down the gates!"

"Be cautious, friends." The Spirit held up their hand in warning. "The witch has power in her lair and she knows this. We rush in at our own peril. Do not let your vengeance blind you." The Spirit focused on us, though, probably because we were the more heavily armed people in the crowd, far more armed than normal villagers could be. "Now, what comes now? More minions of the Baroness, or more souls she has tormented?"

"Neither, to be honest," Aiden replied with a shrug. He looked around curiously before focusing on the Spirit. "We were trapped by someone else. You are?"

"I am Justice. I have watched over this area and seethed at the wrongs the people have suffered." They gestured to the other people, all of whom had expressions of desperation. "Now, I seek to aid them."

"Wrongs?"

"Stealing their children in the middle of the night, draining them of blood for her own selfishness…!" Justice sharply shook its head. "Not to mention dragging them here to the Fade in the first place." Aiden and I glanced at each other, deciding to not push. Behind us, Velanna argued with Nathaniel over something. I heard 'cattle' and chose to stay out of it. I had a headache. "Tell me, stranger. Will you help us in this righteous task?"

"Well…" Aiden sighed, running a hand through his hair. Oghren rolled his eyes, but kept silent. "Truthfully, we were seeking the owner of this part of the Fade so that we could kill them and escape. Seems like that's the Baroness, yes?"

"She is. So?"

"Yes, then. We'll help." Aiden casually walked up to the gates, studying. "Now then…" With two kicks, he had the gates completely off their hinges. "Tada."

"Then now is the time to win their freedom!" And Justice charged right on in, followed by the villagers. We all exchanged a look and a shrug before following.

The courtyard itself was basic, surprisingly so for someone from Orlais. It might've been that the marsh hadn't allowed a fancier garden. However, the building was typical for the 'built during the Orlesian Occupation' era, with some practicality, but mostly just ornamentation. And there, standing on the balcony of the manor, was a woman dressed in 'Orlesian casual', what Orlesians would wear when in the relative safety of their own home, long after the guests had left for the day.

"My, my. All that shouting outside and now you've decided to barge in." the Baroness scoffed, resting her hands on the railing. Her eyes flicked over all of us, lingering on our group. We stood out too much. "Without a proper invitation, at that."

"Foul sorceress…" Justice growled. It gestured to the villagers, all ready to fight for their freedom or 'die' trying. "You will release these poor people and then submit yourself to justice." For a second, I thought it meant submitting to it before I realized it was just talking of the ideal. This was going to be confusing fast.

"Justice? Is that what you're calling it?" She rolled her eyes. "And what of their punishment? Setting my home afire, with me in it?"

"That was your punishment for sacrificing children for nothing but your own vanity!"

"As was my due!" She glared at us, and I felt a strange 'pulse' within my blood. I glanced at Aiden and saw his own discomfort. Velanna, Oghren, and Nathaniel seemed fine. "You lived on my lands! I was your rightful ruler! Your blood was mine, just as your lives are now."

Because of what was just said about blood, I subtly used the templar trick to dispel magic and felt the pulse dissipate. "My dear lady, do you want to try again with the blood magic?" I called, smiling charmingly. Her eyes widened slightly. I'd caught her by surprise. "You were also never their rightful ruler, and you certainly aren't now. Fereldan defeated Orlais in a rebellion twenty-nine years ago. You're nothing to Fereldan now. There isn't even a record of your name anywhere."

"You dare…" she growled. But she recovered quickly. "So, it seems you are not alone. Hmph…" She gestured and, surprisingly, the First stepped out. I had genuinely forgotten it had been dragged into the Fade with us. "Well, I am not alone either."

"So, you send a darkspawn against Wardens?" Aiden asked dryly. He looked so done with all of this. "You're not exactly selling the 'all should be afraid of me' thing. I mean l I know why they were." He gestured to the villagers. "But compared to the ghost dragon we killed not that long ago, you're kind of pathetic. Actually, compared to most things, you're rather pathetic." Oh, he was more than just 'done'. He'd lost his temper.

"You… a knife-ear…!"

"I am the Commander of the Grey Wardens of Fereldan, and I fought the damn Archdemon. Yeah, a Blight happened. We ended it. You're seriously not scaring our group."

"Speak for yourself," Nathaniel muttered. I almost laughed. "I think he forgot that Velanna and I haven't been through all the weird shit yet."

"He actually lost his temper," I explained. I studied the wall and the railing, checking something. I hadn't done this in a while, but… "You can imagine how 'nobles abusing their power' would hit a nerve, yes?"

"Well, yes, but…" Nathaniel groaned. "Maker damn it. Weapons ready!"

So, the battle began. Though, I didn't really join it. As soon as I realized we were fighting, I was climbing up the wall. The copious ornamentation made it easy, even easier than scaling the side of the Winter Palace. As a result, I was actually on the balcony itself before long, where the Baroness watched the battle closely. "I'm afraid I lived in Orlais for a time," I began. The Baroness gasped and whirled towards me. "Orlais likes making everything all shiny and ornamental. It makes it easy to scale the walls."

She tried to cast a spell, but I blocked it with a templar trick and twisted her off the balcony. She managed to take me down with her, but part of learning how to fight involved learning how to _fall_ , so I rolled and bled off most of the impact. She wasn't as lucky, though, and landed hard. One leg snapped and she likely busted or cracked her ribs. Honestly, she might've gotten some internal bleeding since she landed face down.

Still, she struggled to push herself up, gasping from pain. "Enough of this…" she growled. "I deserve better… I deserve more…" I rolled my eyes and walked over, drawing my sword so that I could go ahead and cut her head off. "I will not let them squander the glory that is rightfully mine!" I froze, though, at the words. The situations couldn't be more different, but for a split-second, I didn't see the Baroness. For a split-second, I wasn't in the Fade. Instead, I was back in the dungeons of the Arl's mansion in Denerim, looking down at Howe as he glared at me with all the hatred in the world.

In that split-second, the Baroness used the First as a power source for a spell that rocked everything and made it shatter into a thousand of tiny pieces that fell into whiteness.

Eventually, the white light disappeared for darkness and I felt rain hit my face. I felt cold mud seep into my armor. That, alone, told me that we were back in the real world. "Well, we're alive," I groaned, pushing myself up and grimacing at all the muck in my hair. I needed twenty baths at least to get it all out. "Why is my hair long again?"

"Because you're too lazy to cut it," Aiden retorted instantly. He groaned as well and stood up. "I think I have mud in my underwear."

"We are going to need _so_ many baths." I stood up as well, and helped up Velanna. She shivered from cold, and quickly cast a spell around us to warm the air and help dry us out a little. The rain made it a bit hard, though. "Everyone here?"

"Oghren is taking a bit, but he's stirring," Nathaniel replied. I glanced over to see he was already up and counting the arrows in his quiver. "Some of my arrows snapped, damn it…" Not knowing how to reply or help, I returned my attention to Velanna and tried to help her get the worst of the mud off. Sadly, a quick check showed that even our spare clothes in our packs had gotten muddy and wet, so I couldn't do much. "Nuada, you confirmed Kristoff was dead, right?"

"I did, yes. Why?"

"Well, he's moving." All of us whirled towards Kristoff's body to see it stumbling to its feet. It looked around, slipping in the mud before regained its balance. "Is this normal?"

"Well, if it tries to bite us, yes, but…"

"What… where am I?" 'Kristoff' said, cutting off any amount of theorizing. Though, considering that the lungs had probably rotted away, I was very confused by how he could speak at all. "What is happening?" He looked around slowly, dead eyes widening from horror. "No, this is the world of mortals, beyond the Veil. And this…" He dug at his face, and I nearly gagged when he pulled some skin off. "This is a vessel of flesh. I am trapped within…!"

"Justice?" Aiden called hesitantly. We both glanced at each other, fully admitting that this was _way beyond_ our tolerance for weirdness. "Justice, is that you? What happened?"

"The witch sundered the Veil in her haste, and all of us were dragged through!" Justice moved angrily, and strangely jerky. It was like he had no idea how to move in the body. But, then again, spirits likely had no concept of muscle and bone. "She has returned to this realm as well. Can you not sense it?"

"Er… no. No, I can't. She's not a darkspawn." He glanced at Velanna, who closed her eyes. For my part, I wondered how she was here. Her body would've long rotted away by now, same as the villagers. Then I wondered if things would've been much better if I hadn't frozen right at that point. "Well?"

"For the record, I am strangely comforted by the fact that this is bothering you two as well," she snarked. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked back towards the village. "I sense a powerful presence there. A demon, I think. But the Baroness..."

"She was no longer mortal, not like you or the villagers she suffered," Justice murmured. He sounded so tired, and saddened. "Now, she is a demon of pride. A Dark Pride demon, one of the most powerful. I had hoped to kill her while she was in the Fade, but that is impossible now."

"And… the body?"

"Not. My. Choice." He spat out the words, and I glanced at the others. Oghren was taking a huge gulp from his flask, and I didn't blame him one bit. "That said, the Veil is sundered. If we do not defeat her quickly, we chance it unraveling and demons spilling out." He growled something under his breath. "We are lucky I was the only spirit near. If they had been dragged through, the pain might've twisted them horrifically."

"Bah, whatever, we've got yet another thing to kill, right?" Oghren asked, tucking the flask into his belt again. He picked up his greataxe from the mud and rested it on his shoulder. "Let's just go and get out of here. Ancestor's tits, you people talk too much sometimes."

The others began walking down the path, but I… I caught Aiden's sleeve, looking down. "I'm sorry," I whispered. Aiden looked at me in confusion. "I should've killed her, but I…" But I remembered Howe and had frozen.

"We'll just kill her now," he answered. "Simple." He slung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a one-armed hug. When I refused to cheer up, he kissed my temple and tickled my neck to make me yelp. "Payback for tickling my feet."

"Yeah, yeah…" I made myself smile and the two of us followed everyone else.

I hoped it really would be that simple. I'd feel far worse if it wasn't.

* * *

There was a strange green shimmer to the air as we entered the village. We actually needed to pause a bit because the landscape _flickered_ for a split-second. That was not normal. This was not simple. Maker damn it all, I should've just cut off her head when I had a chance.

"The Fade is bleeding into the mortal plane," Justice murmured, bringing up its hands. White light flickered around its fingers and the shimmering faded some. The area stopped flickering. "We must move quickly."

"So, quick question," Aiden began. He signed for all of us to prep for battle, and I had the thought of looking through the packs and checking what alchemical concoctions. "Do you think that we'll have to face the villagers?"

"No, I believe they are now at rest." Justice brought its hands down, clenching and unclenching its fists like it had no idea what to do about them. I just passed out Mighty Offense Potions to everyone. It would last thirty minutes, plenty of time for a fight. I hoped. "Wherever they are, at least."

"Wherever?"

"We Spirits believe there is a place beyond the Fade, but we have no more answers of an 'afterlife' than you." Justice shrugged, and looked confused at the potions I was distributing. I wanted to make sure we all had access to medicine. "The Veil wasn't always there, you know. It just appeared, one day."

"Really?" Aiden looked at Velanna and she shrugged before continuing her own preparations. I noticed Nathaniel putting some poison on his remaining arrows. I had no idea if it would work, but stranger things had happened and I knew how deadly a poison could be. "Why?"

"I don't know." Justice jerkily took up Kristoff's sword. "Are you ready?"

"I think so?" Aiden looked at us, and Oghren snagged another injury kit from my bag. "Guys?"

"I think we're as prepared as we can be," I replied, tucking everything back. "I've a couple of grenades I can throw to buy us a little more time to get settled in the opening."

"I leave it to you, then," Aiden replied. He focused on Justice again and nodded. "Yes, we're ready. Lead us."

Justice, of course, charged forward. The rest of us lingered back, mostly to avoid getting caught in an ambush. But, surprisingly, there wasn't one. We walked through the now-open gates to the manor and there was the Baroness just… walking around. She wasn't doing anything. It felt a little anticlimactic, truthfully.

"So, this is the world of mortals?" she whispered, not paying us the slightest of attention. "How very dull." She tapped her cheek, frowning. "It's so immutable and unchanging." She smiled slowly, laughing a little. "Yet, I am here. I have crossed the Veil…!" She laughed harder, clapping with almost childlike delight. "The spirits shall watch in envy as the mortals of this world bow before me!"

"You say that like we don't have people specifically trained to kill you," Aiden deadpanned. Yeah, he was completely done with all of this. I took over pushing people into 'proper' places. "There's this thing called 'Templars'. They're trained to fight demons. Among other things."

"As if they can do anything to me!"

"Individually? Maybe not. But an army can." Aiden swung then, and almost killed her right then and there. But she leaned back and contorted horribly. Every 'joint' in her body snapped and her form ripped apart, piece by piece, as the Dark Pride Demon twisted out of the form. "Well, that's actually somewhat impressive. Good job."

"Aiden, move please," I called. As soon as he jumped back, I threw two of Dworkin's 'experimental' explosions right at the demon. Though, I almost scorched off my own eyebrows because said explosions were _much_ larger than I anticipated. They honestly reminded me of that Inferno spell Layla once used in the Fade, and probably a few other times that I couldn't remember because I was a little too busy not dying to a Pride Demon.

The next… however long it was… were rather grueling. The Baroness-Demon was determined to wipe us out. Fire rained from above. Ice spiked from below. There was a lot of dodging and ducking under swipes of claws. At one point, it tried to do _something_ to the Fade, but Justice stopped it. I wasn't sure how or why or what, but I just let it do what it need to do. I called out instructions, and helped Nathaniel get up on the roof of the Manor, so that he had a better vantage point to snipe. Aiden and Oghren were the main damage dealers. I just did what I could while also guarding Velanna, who had the unenviable job of trying to make sure we didn't die via healing spells and barriers.

Noticing the Baroness-Demon trying to go after the one casting barriers on us, I slid in front of her as it tried to claw her. I almost looked away after I set up my shield to block, to give the next order, but then I remembered how that had cost me my right eye, so I focused back on it. It was a good thing, as it had pulled the same illusory trick. So, I barely blocked it in time, and was sent sliding back instead of braced, but I had done enough. Velanna had used the time to get to a better hiding spot, out of sight.

"Lord Nuada!" Aiden shouted. I glanced at him and he nodded at the demon's head. "Can you give me a boost?"

"You have quite a bit of faith in my strength," I retorted. Still, with the potion, I was a bit stronger and it wasn't that bad of a tactic. I'd done stupider and it worked. "I'm not taking responsibility if you break your leg or something."

"Yes, you will. That's how you are." Damn that he was right. "One… two…"

"Oh, wait until it's at least looking away from us!" I held my breath until Oghren and Nathaniel managed to snag its attention. I winced when Oghren took a bad injury, but I saw it heal up. I wondered where Justice was, but couldn't spare the time. "...Three."

I would never be able to explain how I managed to boost Aiden up. It wasn't to the head, obviously. But Aiden did get pretty damn high anyway, and he climbed up the demon's back to reach the head. He swung at its neck as hard as he could and jumped down the front to let gravity help him out. The result was a very awkward half-decapitation, Aiden bouncing off the demon's knee and landing on his ass, a lot of blood, and a very dead demon.

"You need to work on the landing," I deadpanned as soon as we were certain it was dead. Aiden gave me a dirty look, but I just dragged his sword over to him. "I hate pride demons."

"Same," Aiden sighed, taking the sword. He shrugged when I frowned. "What?"

"Do you mind reminding me when you fought them?"

"Soldier's Peak and Ortan thaig. Which actually reminds me." He looked around, wincing as his injuries started protesting. I was grateful Pride Demons didn't 'bleed', as otherwise, there would be a lot of red for him to also did with. "Oghren?"

"Yeah?" Oghren called. It still took a while, but I finally saw him flat on his back a short distance away, just resting. "What is it?"

"Did I ever learn why someone thought it would be a good idea to put dismembered remains on an altar?" Did he ever learn what now? This was not something that got shared.

"Accident, rather like the dragon." Oghren shrugged and waved his hand lazily. "We wanted to look inside and see if the remains were dwarves. So, we set them on something to better look. It turned out to be the Altar."

"Why not the ground?"

"That's too simple."

Patting Aiden on the shoulder, I went to check in on the others. Justice was fine, though he looked contemplative for reasons unknown. Velanna was a bit bruised and might need to be carried out because of exhaustion, but was otherwise fine. Nathaniel needed a bit of help getting down, but we managed that and limped over to the others. Though, I paused as we passed by a broken window. Just inside was an odd book. Far too curious, I picked it up and flipped through it. It was very tattered and it took a moment for me to realize it was a journal, signed by someone… I thought the name 'Fenela', but the light was just too dim for me to read. I'd have to study it later. So, I carefully tucked it into one of the few dry parts of my pack and rejoined the others, just in time to hear Aiden offer Justice a place in the Wardens. Because, why not?

The list of 'weird things we have experienced' was just getting longer and longer. But, I supposed that was a price for having the life I did. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_ And here we are with the last main quest before the endgame! (though, we are going to have a couple of breather chapters first.) Once again, some foreshadowing to Inquisition and introspection. This game is good for it. The journal at the end comes from the _World of Thedas Volume 2_ , which gives a better 'guess' at the timeline of the Marsh (namely, that it all vanished while Moira, Maric's mother and Cailan and Alistiar's grandmother, was alive) and gives a reason for why she became obsessed with her looks; she had a husband who left her as she began to age.

The West Hill Brandy is one of Oghren's preferred gifts, as is the Aqua Magus. _Aquae lucidius_ is an alcohol mentioned in the Mark of the Assassin DLC for DA2. Mighty Offense is one of the potions in DA2, boosting your damage by 10% for thirty minutes. Dworkin's High Explosives (which you only get by encouraging Dworkin to push himself) causes an 'Inferno' sized explosion. Yeah.

Next Chapter - Cleon in Amaranthine


	20. Chapter 16) Law

Chapter 16) Law

 _Cleon POV_

* * *

' _Blood or coin, the Carta always gets its cut'. That's something her mother once told her. Now that she's the leader, she's the one who determines what sort of 'cut' it is. She's had a few idiots already try to oust her, thinking her too weak or too nice. They made for good exercise before dying, she supposed, and they did help her make something clear. She chose to be nice. She could easily choose not to be nice. Made deals easier. And boy, are there a lot of deals. Lyrium smuggling, slaving (though mostly, she helps them get out because damn if they don't remind her of herself), weapons… the Carta has hands in all of it. And it's all hers._

 _She's expanding their surface influence to get more information, more deals, more everything… combine it with what Bhelen is doing and there's a nice little profit being funneled into Dust Town. Makes her feel all warm and squishy. She's really got to thank the Wardens again. As soon as she was finished with this. She's sure they need more spies. Leaders always did._

" _Natia, are you getting ready?" Rica pokes her head into her room, carrying sweet baby Endrin, her darling nephew. "You promised me that you would attend this dinner with me," she points out, sulking slightly. "Bhelen made sure your favorites were made."_

" _You've got yourself a nice fiance," she replies, messily finishing up her note. She'd send it out in the morning; it's a favor for Bhelen. Orzammar was dependent on the Carta and their black market to survive. Being nice to Bhelen made sure they kept their status, even as he opened up trade and the like. "Sorry, later than I thought. I'll get dressed. But if someone tries to trick me into some sort of marriage again…"_

" _Punch them out, of course."_

" _Love you."_

" _Love you too, Natia."_

* * *

I was a little confused how we ended up in this situation. We arrived in Amaranthine, no big deal. Greeted a few people, got stared at by locals. Anders met an acquaintance, decided to check something out. Sigrun thought it sounded fun, Layla and I came along to help bullshit our way out of trouble if need be, and somehow, this led to us dealing with some Templar lady with absolutely no sense. Particularly common sense.

'Is she really stating that she has the right to bring Anders in?' I signed to Layla, not quite sure I'd read her translations correctly. Anders was too resigned to react, while Sigrun just looked so incredibly confused. I didn't blame her. 'Really?'

'She is,' Layla signed back. The lady was continuing to talk, speaking as if we had seen her. I honestly couldn't remember her. At all. And I'd think I'd remember a shemlen this annoying. 'She is talking a lot about nothing, truly, and states that she will bring Anders in to justice.'

'I thought not even the Chantry could deny a Warden's right to conscript?'

'That is correct.'

'What sort of madness did Fen'harel inflict her with?' I smiled innocently when the lady finally noticed that we weren't actually paying attention. 'Go be charming.'

'I am not Nuada.' Still, Layla put on her best smile. Sigrun silently asked why we hadn't killed the lady yet. I shrugged and mimed for her to wait. 'You were saying, ma'am?'

'Such rude children,' the lady scoffed. I was seriously fighting off a headache at this point. 'Regardless, the Chantry's authority-'

'The Chantry has no authority when it comes to Wardens. That is basics,' Layla countered easily. I began moving along the sides of the room, just waiting. Sigrun climbed onto a box to get a better view. Anders frowned in confusion. 'What was your next failing of a point?'

'You…!' The lady glared. I positioned myself behind her, quiet as you please or so I assumed. She didn't react to me, at least. 'This murderer cannot hide in the Wardens' ranks!'

'Wardens take criminals in all the time. Technically speaking, Aiden is a former one.' Though was that really a crime? Murder, yes, but crime? That was debatable. 'Regardless, no, you cannot have Anders.'

'Then I will take him by force!'

'You are aware that I am the Arlessa of Amaranthine, and Cleon is the Hero of Fereldan, yes?' Layla looked just so completely done. It was hilarious. 'Assuming you win, which you will not, what do you think will happen? Do you honestly think that you will be praised?' Layla shook her head, sighing so heavily that her shoulders moved with it. 'You would be executed as a traitor. The Divine herself will denounce you. She would have to, in order to save face. This is pointless.'

The lady tried to attack, but she wore no helmet or anything, so it was very easy to half-decapitate her. She fell quickly, and I remembered how I had always been warned that Templars were among the greatest of armies. And I had to admit the ones we fought alongside of had certainly proven that. But still, this woman…

'I wonder if she was suffering from the long-term effects of lyrium,' Anders signed, gestures almost absent. He had to sign the first words again because I didn't catch them. 'Paranoia, obsession…' And then a sign I didn't recognize.

'What was that?' I signed, hopping over the body to join the others. Sigrun gave me the biggest grin, while Layla just continued to look exasperated. 'That last one. What was it?'

Anders took my hand to spell out the word. D-E-M-E-N-T-I-A. Dementia. 'It's a broad category of brain diseases that gradually cause long term impairment to a person's ability to think and remember, to the point that it impacts their daily life. Emotional problems, difficulties with languages, and lack of motivation often accompany it.' He shrugged, glancing up at the ceiling. 'I wonder if she just forgot there were more people than Layla and me here.'

'You see the forgetfulness in miners who get some of the raw stuff on them," Sigrun added. She swung her legs around to sit on the box. 'They are super careful, guarding the secret of how to mine the lyrium safely like misers guard coin. That said; the stuff is volatile and sometimes explode without warning.' She shrugged off my incredulous look. I knew a bit about lyrium, but not that it was so dangerous. 'Of course, dwarves have a resistance to lyrium. If the raw stuff gets on humans and elves? I've heard it can be anything from nausea, blistering skin, and that forgetfulness again.'

'Well, human and elves who aren't mages,' Anders corrected. I poked Layla's side to make sure I was reading the signs correctly. She simply smiled bitterly. 'Mages can't even approach unprocessed lyrium. Extended time in proximity will kill us.'

'And why do you crazy non-Dalish use it?' I asked, unable to help it. I wouldn't say that Dalish didn't use lyrium ever, but I certainly hadn't dealt much with it. And I was very confused as to why. 'I know that it can help temporarily boost magic, but…'

'Oh, well, supposedly, lyrium allows Templars to use their abilities.' If that was the case, though, then how could Alistair, Aiden, and Nuada use them? Was it because of the power within the Blight? Was it something else? 'Many think, though, that… well…'

'Lyrium is addictive,' Layla signed slowly. Her eyes were sad, and there was a touch of a memory in her gaze. She had treated templars before. 'It is addictive and…'

'And there's no templar that's survived withdrawal,' Anders continued. His eyes also had a memory. Sigrun and I shared stunned-confusion looks. 'It is supposed to be painful, and certainly looked it in the few I had to treat. Fatigue, forgetfulness, unquenchable thirst…'

'Those are the early signs. Later symptoms include disorientation, an inability to distinguish between dream and reality…'

'Nightmares, immense pain…' Anders shrugged. 'They die from withdrawal. Or go mad.'

'That just sucks,' Sigrun replied, showing a fantastic talent for understatement. I nudged Layla to the side as I noticed the blood from the body slowly trickling towards us. We probably shouldn't be talking so much over a corpse, but… well, it wasn't the first time. 'Wait, but doesn't the Chantry control all the legitimate lyrium trade here on the surface?'

'They do,' Anders confirmed. And I found myself growling to Elgar'nan when I finally made the connection. Lyrium made sure one of the best-trained forces in all of Thedas remained within the Chantry, dependent on them even. Probably what encouraged zealotry over basic morals. You didn't want to anger your lifeline. 'Yeah, I know. Much as I hate them, I can acknowledge the Chantry is shit to them too. But at least they chose the life, unlike mages.'

'That sounds like a fun conversation, but can we go? Before we have to explain to the guards what happened.'

'I think we have to anyway.'

'Ancestor's balls.'

Anders and Sigrun bickered back and forth as they left. I, however, stopped Layla and waited for them to leave. 'Alistair said he was given to the Chantry at ten, right?' I asked. I remembered being told that, at least. It reminded me of how Merrill had been given to Sabrae, because of her magical talents. But Sabrae had treated her as family, and the Chantry… well, it didn't do that with Alistair. 'Was that an unusually young age?'

'No, it is not,' Layla signed back. She looked down sadly. 'Cullen was thirteen when he joined, and he was an older recruit.'

'I see.' In that case, I failed to see how that was a choice. There was no way a young child could understand such consequences. And, again, Alistair had been _given_ to the Chantry. Others like him were forced to be Templars. There wasn't any choice at all. Not informed ones. Not proper ones.

I wasn't sure why the knowledge that the Chantry screwed over yet another group of people surprised me. Guess I didn't think they could get any worse.

* * *

Surprisingly, we had a delightful talk with the guard about killing a templar in one of their storage sheds. Not at all sarcastic, either. Apparently, she had been bothering them as well and the Chantry had been trying to get someone to deal with her. So, it ended up being quietly dealt with, no big deal especially since the Chantry didn't want it to get out that one of their templars tried to attack two heroes, and we learned that the guard was actually having trouble with something.

Apparently, dangerous conditions on the road led to slowing of trade. Somehow, that led to smugglers sneaking things in and charging far too much for necessities. Sigrun thought it made sense, but if baffled Layla and me. Still, we agreed to help out and that led to a city wide chase and us climbing into some underground cave network to deal with people who really couldn't fight all that well. The tunnels worried Layla and me and there had been extensive talks to block them off as soon as the guard here got all the supplies out. I worried they'd move too slow on it, but… well, we did what we could.

And speaking of what we could do, Layla and Anders decided, afterwards, to set up a temporary clinic or something in the Chantry to help some of the injured and ill. And turned into a damn stampede because a) free medical care was the best thing ever to them, b) they wanted to meet their Arlessa, and c) they wanted to meet the Heroes of the Blight. I spent far too long just smiling at people and letting them babble without actually replying or anything. I couldn't really, because I didn't know what they were saying. Layla and Anders were healing and even Sigrun had been dragged off for something, meaning I had no one to sign for me. Rather frustrating, truthfully.

I smiled and nodded at some person rambling about something, feeling my face numb up from the smile, almost as numb as my ass was from sitting. I had no idea how Nuada could go around with a smile all the time. Maybe it was just like any other muscle. I'd ask. For now, I was bored enough to mentally recite every prayer, song, and story I knew of the Creators. Separated out by each Creator. In alphabetical order. I was on Mythal.

I caught signing out of the corner of my eye and glanced over, wondering if one of the others was trying to catch my attention or if they were signing out of habit. It turned out to be the latter, sadly, as Anders and Layla were far too engrossed in their own conversation.

'I'd love to run a clinic someday,' Anders signed. His hands were bloody, like he had just finished stitching someone's injuries. 'A free one, so that people only have to worry about getting better.'

'We can set something up at the Keep!' Layla replied, her face and signs were alight with excitement. She had some dried herbs stuck in her hair. 'Though, things do have to calm down first.'

'True. Ah, next one!'

'Yes!' The two of them went back to work, and I focused again on just smiling and nodding and being the nice little doll for people to… I didn't even know. It was definitely uncomfortable. I was a normal… well, I wasn't really 'normal'. I was a Warden, the exact opposite of normal. I also survived killing the Archdemon, which…

Something must've shown on my expression because someone _finally_ got the crowd away from me and let me go relax in a corner, far away from people. I leaned against the wall gratefully, closing my eyes and enjoying the fact that I no longer _had_ to smile. I also no longer had to sit, and my ass was very grateful for that little fact. But being able to relax was very, very nice.

Once I felt a little more like myself, I looked around the room, checking on everyone. Layla and Anders were, of course, continuing to treat people. At this point, I was certain every person in Amaranthine, and the nearby villages, were getting full checkups today. Sigrun wasn't far away, surprisingly playing with the children. I watched for a while and saw her pulling sleight-of-hand tricks to keep them entertained while their parents were being treated. She was very good at it, and the children were all smiling and clapping. I knew they cheered, just by their expressions.

But the thought of 'child' inevitably turned my thoughts back to my own. Now, of course, maybe it was arrogant to l think of them as 'mine', but I… I didn't want them to grow up like me, wondering if they just weren't loved enough. I knew that Morrigan had said to let her walk away and I should respect that. I _knew_ I should. But I at least… I at least wanted to meet them once. I at least wanted to make sure they were okay, that Morrigan was okay. Even if, as Loghain said, I was falling out of love, or whatever it was, with her, she was still a friend. And I…

Someone poked my nose. I blinked slowly, not quite comprehending, until I saw Layla standing in front of me with a distinct frown on her face. 'You are scowling,' she signed. I looked behind her, noticing the still large number of people gathered in the 'clinic' area. 'Anders can handle it alone. What is wrong?'

'It is…' I began. I was prepared to push it off, knowing that if I did, she would back off. That was how we four were. We knew that things were difficult to talk about. We knew each of us was scarred and hurting. Maybe that was why we continued to group together and 'isolate' ourselves, as Sigrun and Anders thought. Going through the Blight had changed us, but our scattered group just _understood_. The new Wardens didn't. Not yet. But the others did. 'Morrigan.' But because I knew Layla understood… I knew I didn't _need_ to keep pushing it off.

'It was super mean of her to leave without a better goodbye.' Layla scowled and puffed out her cheeks like a particularly mad chipmunk. 'She also just left while pregnant! Does she really think we would not be worried about her? Pregnancy is hard on the body!'

'It is.' I remembered all the health issues Lyna went through. 'But it is not necessarily her leaving…'

'It is the child, right?' Layla swung to my side and leaned in reassuringly. 'It is the child born so that you could continue to live, so that _we_ could continue to live.'

'You picked that up quicker than I thought.'

'All of us are worried, both about her and about the child. It does not settle well, to not see the child we, in a way, sacrificed.' She shrugged. 'But that is neither here nor there. We are focused on you.'

'Of course.' Still, it was comforting to know they were also worried. 'What bothers me the most is… if she wishes, I don't need to be their father, per se, but I would like to be part of their life.'

'You wouldn't mind being the child's father, though. You'd love it, even.' Of course, she saw the heart of it easily. 'You had wanted a family with Merrill, didn't you?'

'I'm surprised you remember her name.'

'You say it often enough, and I found it all very sad.' She poked my cheek, smiling when I made a face. 'You also get a sweet smile on your face whenever she comes up.'

'Do I, huh?' I had never noticed. 'But, you're right. I had. Back then, I dreamed of being a hunter for the rest of my days, teasing Tamlen and Lyna, spoiling their children, spoiling mine…' I sighed and let my hands fall, unable to continue. It really had been all I had wanted before all of this.

'All of our lives changed because of the Blight.' And it wasn't even just 'our' lives. It was everyone. The Blight changed Fereldan forever. Honestly, it probably changed Thedas forever, much like the previous Blights. 'We gained a lot, but…'

'Traumatic as everything was, I wouldn't change any of it. I love you all dearly. I like the life I have now.' But it was bitter, remembering what could have been. It was bitter, remembering what had been lost. Even if, by some miracle, I did connect with Merrill again, have a family with her, I would always be away on Warden business. Tamlen was dead. What could have been… it had no chance of happening. Not anymore.

'Still, that does not mean we have to just watch everything pass us by. When things settle down, we should make a point to finding Morrigan. She's a friend, and we're worried too.' Layla smiled brightly and warmly, very much like the sun. Honestly, 'like the sun' described her well. 'We should also try to see your Clan.'

'That…' I tried to sign more, but I couldn't. I couldn't find the words I wanted.

She poked my cheek, still smiling. 'It isn't fair that you can't see everyone, when the rest of us can. I can always visit the Tower to see Irving, or the castle to visit Neria. Nuada can visit Highever and the castle, though I suppose it's hard to visit…'

'The ones that died?'

'I suppose that can apply to Aiden and me as well, though we managed to escape pretty well on family.' That was true. If nothing else, I could state that few of my Clan had died during the Blight. Honestly, Tamlen was the only one. 'Regardless, though, he can and Aiden can visit the Alienage. But you can't just visit your Clan, right?'

'They went to the Free Marches, yes.' I smiled softly and pulled her into a hug. 'But I do have my sister and my mother-figure here. I just have to visit the castle to see them. I can visit the settlement in the Hinterlands to visit many friends.'

'True.' She pouted, though, with a stubborn light in her eyes. 'But we are going to arrange it!'

'Yes, yes.' I noticed a minstrel playing in the corner now, and nudged Layla. 'What are the lyrics?'

'Ah, give me a moment to listen a bit. I have never heard it before.'

When Layla finally did sign out the lyrics, I wasn't sure if I was more amused or exasperated. The lyrics matched the ones Leliana had come up with at Soldier's Peak. In fact, it was the one she'd made up about Nuada and Layla. It was _hilarious_ how red Layla turned when I explained it too her, though.

Bitter as I was about how things changed, I really would never give up this life for anything. It was far too fun.

* * *

Author's note: So, all the notes on lyrium come from various side materials, codexes, and dialogue across the games. Also, have Anders's companion quest. Law and Order provides a little bit of foreshadowing for the endgame, but it's also a really short quest, so it's dealt with offscreen. And more introspection and the like. Leliana threatened to make up songs back during _Saga of the Wardens_ , and it just makes sense for songs to be made about the group, so… yeah.

Next Chapter - Layla back at the Keep


	21. Chapter 17) Future's Blessings

Chapter 17) Future's Blessings

 _Layla POV_

* * *

 _Marching to Orlais. He never thought he'd see the day. He can hear Maric laughing and laughing at the irony. He can also hear Maric crying, screaming, and generally just hating him. He made such a mess of things, really. He tried, but he was wrong and, worst, he didn't admit he was wrong. It reminded him of what that witch had said. Betray and betray… he'd certainly lived up to that prophecy. But Maric had been his best friend anyway. The world was a lot dimmer without him. Without Rowan._

 _But it's not without light entirely. Anora still lives, and that Alistair fellow has just enough of Maric in him that he can't help but think he'll do okay. Particularly when Nuada and Elspeth are helping him. The future isn't as bright as it used to be, but there's still light. There's still hope. He can live with that._

* * *

"Aw… who is the cutest widdle thing~?" Anders cooed over Ser-Pounce-A-Lot, a kitten one of the servants had found half-drowned in the courtyard. I had promptly snatched him up and dropped him in Anders's lap. The result was, adorably, Anders making baby noises and squeals and Ser-Pounce-A-Lot purring up a storm. Though, I did half-wish they would move to his room instead of lounging in my study. They were quite distracting. "Layla! He's got the squishiest paws!"

"I am glad you are enjoying your gift," I replied dryly, frowning over scouting reports. There was a distinct lack of… anything, and that worried me. Threats did not just simply disappear. They prepped for something big. "You were attached to Mister Wiggums."

"Took down three templars! Though, I hope Ser-Pounce-A-Lot has a much quieter life."

"Thankfully, the Veil is not very thin here. I doubt a rage demon will confuse him for a person." It had still been one of the oddest days, seeing one of the mousers suddenly turn into a rage abomination. I was half-certain someone tried a summoning circle and botched it. "He should have a nice life here at the Vigil."

"He should!" Anders laughed and flopped down on the floor, letting Ser-Pounce-A-Lot crawl all over him. "By the way, is he a bribe to not go running off? It'll be harder to travel with a cat."

"Wardens go where they are needed, so no, it is not a bribe." I thumbed through the report talking of how the repairs to the walls were going well, the armor for the militia was going even better, and that gate-wall thing Cleon, Nathanial, and Velanna had found was almost completely fixed and ready for use. "No one knew what to do with the poor thing, and I remembered you like cats."

"Did I tell you I like cats or is that just one of those 'this is stupidly obvious' things?"

"Half of your stories whenever you returned involved how adorable the stray cats were and you would forget to give us your presents to tell us about them."

"And then Neria and Jowan would prod and tickle me until I remembered." Anders laughed warmly. "I still need to see you."

"You also need to write her. I told her you were here, and I believe I have gotten _twelve_ letters from her."

"Ouch, okay, I'll write." Anders kissed Ser-Pounce-A-Lot's head and got a lick on his nose in thanks. "I wonder if she still has those trinkets and portraits."

"She has the ones that managed to survive Uldred's assault. I have all of mine, since she packed them before me." By some miracle of the Maker, I had not lost a single one. "A few of her portraits were destroyed, so she stole Jowan's. They were still there, and it is not like he will need them."

"True." Anders fell quiet for a while, and I focused on reading through more of the reports, focusing on the notes from the merchants. With things calm in the Wending Woods again, trade was flowing. Based on what I knew from Velanna, I planned on letting the merchants through until we had ample supplies before confronting them on how they set fire to the forests near the Dalish camps to drive them out. I was _not_ going to let things like that stand. "Say, Layla?"

"Yes?"

"Jowan was a blood mage."

"He was."

"He was a blood mage, gave it up, fell in love, planned to leave, and then… well, everything went wrong." Anders sat up and let Ser-Pounce-A-Lot crawl onto his shoulders, still purring. He really liked being all warm and dry. "Why? Did he ever say?"

"Neria is going through his things, the ones that survived the templar investigation and Uldred's attack, but if she has found anything, she has not told me." I frowned over the numbers for our grain stores. They seemed low, even accounting for everything. I would talk to Varel later about it. "I did not have a chance to ask him. He ran when he revealed it, and when I saw him again, when I saw him for the last time, I…" I had to pause against the rush of tears. "There was too much going on." I still remembered it, though. I still remembered killing him to save Connor, at his insistence. He had wanted to make up for his mistakes, and to make up for traumatizing Connor so. "There was far too much going on."

"I understand. It just…" He paused, scratching Ser-Pounce-A-Lot under the chin. I glanced out the window and guessed by the amount of sunlight that it was almost lunch. "Jowan never seemed one for power, you know? He was better suited to teaching and never seemed to mind it."

"I thought so as well." It was telling that, despite everything that happened, Connor apparently had a _brilliant_ grasp of the basics. He was Irving's apprentice now because of it, learning how to turn those basics into actual spellcasting and attempting to heal from his trauma. I had asked to visit, but Irving had refused. Connor wasn't up for _any_ sort of visitors. "He seemed to love it when the smaller apprentices came to him for help or comfort."

"That's what I always saw. Andraste's knickers, he helped _me_ get comfortable with my magic."

"He was the one who helped introduce me to the others, when it was my first day." It was painful, remembering. "I had thought he was happy. I never would have thought…" I had not known him nearly as well as I had thought. Now, I would never truly get the chance to fix that. "I suppose it could have been power, though. I am almost certain he was a warrior mage. You remember how much trouble he had with the elemental and primal spells."

"A… what?" Anders looked at me in confusion, but that just reminded me of something I had not done yet. I needed to write the Circles… "I've never heard…" He yelped when I suddenly jumped to my feet and rummaged through some papers and pens, hunting for blank. "Layla?"

"What are all the Circles again?" I jotted down the ones I knew. There were fourteen or fifteen throughout Thedas, if I remembered correctly. Kinloch Hold. Kirkwall Gallows. Ostwick Circle. Hossberg. White Spire. Cumberland. Perendale. Dairsmuid. "Urgh…"

"I can help you remember, but why?" Anders brought up Ser-Pounce-A-Lot who meowed in confusion. "And a what?"

"It… oh, I have not told you yet." I sat down again, trying to think of how to explain. 'I accidentally obtained the memories of a centuries-dead elven warrior' was the truth, but that required more explanation than I wanted to give. I had adapted well enough, but it was more than a little odd. "During the Blight, we ended up discovering a few bits of elven lore." That was true enough. "One of the things we discovered was something that best translates as 'warrior mages'."

"And those are?" Anders held up Ser-Pounce-A-Lot in front of his face and waved his little paw at me. "What are they, Enchanter Amell?" He pitched his voice high to be like a child's and I collapsed on my desk in giggles. "Those weren't in our notes!"

"It would have been Enchanter Layla, Anders. I am unusual in that I knew, and kept, my last name." Many did not, since they had been thrown out by their parents. Jowan's mother had called him a 'demon child'. I might not have kept my own, except I had vague, but good, memories of my mother and the other 'Amells' I met. My 'father' had not been an Amell. "Oh, whatever. Put the poor cat down, Anders."

"Fine, fine." He set Ser-Pounce-A-Lot in his lap, where the adorable cat curled up, purring again. "So?"

"You know how there are Somniari?"

"The Dreamers, right? Mages capable of entering the Fade at will, without the need for lyrium or blood magic." Anders hummed a bit in thought, a song I recognized but only because he often hummed or sang it while working. He never taught it to me, or even told me the name. "The presence of demons is painful to them, however, because of that sensitivity to the Fade. They're very attractive to demons as well, and often don't survive long because of that. Their minds are too fragile to endure a possession. As such, outside of the Imperium, there hasn't been on in… two ages, I believe?"

"Yes, they are a specific type of mage. You and I are the more typical mages, with the power to command the elements at will and able to endure and resist a demon's call if the need came." Truthfully, Anders and I were supposedly particularly adept at resisting that corruptive influence. That was why we had both been allowed to pursue the path of a Spirit Healer. "But, Anders, there are others!"

"Well, there are the Seers in Rivain, though something tells me that you're referring to something different."

"The Seers allow themselves to be possessed and the like, and that might be what I am referring to, but I do not know. But…!" I jumped to my feet, excited now. "But no, there are others! Their magic flows differently through them, like with the Dreamers!"

"And how, exactly?"

"You remember how Jowan struggled with the basic elemental magic?" I bounced on my toes, barely waiting for him to nod before I continued. "I bet if he actually pursued creation spells or entropy or arcane, he would have been far better than us! That would have been how his magic flowed through him!" But he never did. Entropy unnerved him, Anders and I focused on creation spells because of healing, and Neria was a master of the Arcane branch. "But they are instinctual masters of those branches or… well…" I frowned, grimacing. "I suppose that would depend on where a spell is classified…"

"You would think that there would think there would be some sort of universal classification system for magic, but no, that's too simple!" Anders scowled. "Feels like every Circle has its own way to define magic. But I think I catch your meaning. The fire and ice are difficult, but they'd probably could heal more with a simple 'heal' spell than some Spirit Healers can?"

"Yes! They can also instinctually call on spiritual weapons, without a hilt like the Knight Enchanters, and they can easily break people's minds with entropy and…" I paused and took a deep breath to calm myself down. "The point is, though, is that they would have to be _taught_ differently. The system as it stands now…"

"You'd have more luck teaching a stone how to fly. And then they might turn to blood magic to get the power needed to just be 'normal'." Anders stood up then, with Ser-Pounce-A-Lot complaining until Anders helped him up onto his shoulder. "Here, I'll help you with that list."

"Thank you." I smiled brightly at him. "Thank you very much!"

* * *

"Layla, have you thought about children?" The question made me pause and slowly drag myself out of my letter writing. At Cleon's suggestion, I was writing to Keeper Elindra of the Ralaferin Clan, because he thought they might be amenable to sharing knowledge with me due to the actions of their former Keeper, Gisharel, especially in exchange for my knowledge of the Arcane Warriors. I did not really want to 'trade' for it, but Cleon suggested it. With the settlement in the Hinterlands, more knowledge might help reduce attacks like what those merchants had done… "Layla?"

"I am sorry," I blurted, sitting back in my chair. It took a few more blinks to remind myself that I was in my study again, this time after a very nice lunch, writing letters to people with Anora. "I was caught up."

"I can tell," Anora laughed from her own little table by the window. Her smile was kind, though. "I asked if you have thought about children."

"Ah… hmm…" I frowned as I thought, absently spinning my pen about my fingers. The late afternoon sunlight made the room almost sparkle, especially on the wet ink of our various replies. "No, I have not. In the Circle, if a mage ended up pregnant and carried the child to term, they were taken from their mothers." Anders and I had helped deliver a couple of them, due to our healing magic. Most of the mothers had a heartbreaking resigned look on their faces when I had to take their children out of their arms. I remembered how a few had even cried. I had not, perhaps because of my youth, but I knew Anders had. He had screamed about it even, about how the Circle took away everything. "Unless you are very influential, or have very influential friends, the mother never learns. Sometimes, most of the time actually, they do not even learn their child's name."

"That's…" Anora fell silent, with her expression locking up. It took her a while to reply. "That sounds inhumane."

"The Chantry goes through great lengths to ensure there are few in a Circle who share blood ties. Though, bribes can also go a long way for that." It was a combination of both that led to me being sent to Kinloch Hold. "Templars are discouraged to have families as well."

"It still…" Anora fell silent again, but this time, I saw the pain in her eyes. I remembered how I had been told Anora and Cailan had difficulties having a child over five years of marriage. I wondered if she had wanted a child beyond the need for an heir. "So, you have never thought about it?"

"Ah, yes, I have not." I accepted the redirect and decided to go one better. "I have, however, noticed that my periods have been extremely spaced out. I think I have only bled once since my Harrowing, before Ostagar."

"Really?" Anora tapped her pen on her table, thinking. "You know; now that I think about it, Cailan once mentioned to me that Wardens have reduced fertility. I had thought it an odd fact to know and didn't pay much attention to it." I thought about how, in Ostagar, Cailan had apparently been looking into whether or not _he_ was sterile and the one causing 'issues' with having an heir. I wondered if he had learned because of that research. "There were a lot of things I should have paid more attention to."

"You miss him."

"Terribly." She sighed and smiled sadly. "He wasn't the best husband, or the best king, but he was kind and he tried his hardest. He could've become good at both, if there had been a little more time. If he and I actually talked to each other more." She looked down and held her pen tightly enough to shake. "He was a good man. He deserved a better death. He deserved a longer life. And now, people are just going to remember him as a glory-hound, instead of someone..."

"Based on Nuada, I can guess that he played the fool to make people smile and give them courage." I remembered how blunt Cleon had been, and how genuinely horrified he had been at the way the elves were treated. I remembered how Cleon had called him 'shem king' and he had taken no offense. "He was very kind, at the camp. He did his best to show us around so that we would not get lost."

"Never the sharpest tool in the shed, but no one could fault how kind he was." She laughed bitterly. "Each time my period came, I would be so frustrated and upset that I cried. It was another month of dealing with everyone's pointed questions, another month of pretending I didn't see their sneers or hear their laughs. It was tiring and it was painful." She closed her eyes, smiling slightly. I thought she was holding back tears. "But each time, Cailan would say something silly or do something ridiculous to cheer me up again. Even with his affairs, he always made sure I had something to make me smile, be it a silly story, or my favorite treat." She sighed and opened her eyes again to look at her letters. "I hope they don't blame Elspeth as they did me. She is younger, thankfully, so she should have more time, but..."

"Ah…" But I could hear the hidden words. If Wardens did have a reduced fertility, then we might have only delayed the succession crisis here in Fereldan, not solved it. "Um… Oh, who is Ser Aaron?" I picked up the letter from him and skimmed through it. "He sent me something."

"Hmm? Oh, Ser Aaron Hawthorne. He was a child soldier during the Rebellion, one of sadly many, and was one of the youngest knights in Fereldan. Knighted at fifteen after he helped prevent another escalation of the war." Anora's smile became kind and warm again. "Maric offered to give him lands, especially since his family had died during the Occupation, but he opted instead to be a wandering knight. He's served valiantly ever since, essentially being an unofficial ambassador for Fereldan." She laughed, and it sounded mostly happy. "He's a kind man, and a damn brilliant storyteller, if you can forgive the curse."

"I can tell." I relaxed in my chair as I read through his words. It was filled with encouragement, stories that made me smile, and the like. What touched me the most, though, was how he 'knew' I was doing all I could with everything being against me as it was. 'Knew'. He had never met me, but he believed I was doing my best. That meant a lot. I needed to make sure Alistair knew of him. "I will have to think of a good reply." For now, though, I set it to the side again and returned to writing to Keeper Elindra.

There was a lot of work to make the future brighter than the present, but I believed we could do it, one step at a time. These letters would be among those steps. I was certain of it.

* * *

Author's notes: Little bit of a break for the group! Ser-Pounce-A-Lot is Anders's plot gift. Ser Aaron is one of the characters in _Knight Errant_. Clan Ralaferin… well, technically, Ralaferin has been established since Origins, through the codexes. Keeper Gisharel is the in-universe author of many Dalish related codexes in Origins, DA2, and Inquisition. Two members of the clan, Neria (who funnily enough, shares her name with a default!female!Surana in this game) and Cillian, are multiplayer options for Inquisition. Neria's background reveals that Clan Ralaferin faces some scorn for choosing to share their knowledge with humans, though they believe it is by sharing this knowledge that humans will learn how to live alongside them. Cillian is actually an Arcane Warrior. So, it makes sense that Layla would reach out to them in particular. Anders and Layla lamenting the lack of a universal classification system for magic is due to how what 'kind' of magic a certain spell is can vary wildly depending on which of the games you're playing.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Nathaniel


	22. Interlude - Nathaniel

Interlude - Nathaniel

* * *

"This… thing you spoke of…" Justice begins quietly as the all walk down the path. It takes him a moment to realize Justice is talking to him, mostly because he sees how Aiden and Velanna are talking about something, while Nuada and Oghren are joking and laughing. "Switching bodies?"

"Ah, that," he replies, shrugging. It had been a random thought he'd had during their last conversation, more said to distract Justice from the whole 'imprisoned' thing. Justice is incapable of seeing things as morally grey, viewing everything as 'good' or 'evil'. He half wonders if the world will drive Justice mad because of it. "What of it?"

"Would such a thing not be abdominitable?" Justice looks almost distressed by the thought, as much as a dead, rotting face can show any sort of emotion. It is probably a bad thing that he's almost used to the smell. "Would it be permitted?"

"It's not as if someone is using the body." But the more he thinks on it, the more uncomfortable he does get. He's heard of Nevarran mages that do similar things, yet… "Still, not a bad thing to be wary of. It was just a thought." And, because his mind really wants to not worry about the thought of 'what if he uses the body of a friend?', it jumps to another. "So, what about a living host?"

" _That_ is the act of demons." Justice's voice grows harsh and clipped. Nuada glances back at them worriedly, though he continues talking with Oghren. "Besides, I know not how. I do not even know how I came to reside in this body."

"Demons trick their hosts or force themselves upon them, from my understanding." He shrugs. "So, what if the person is willing?"

"What mortal would decide that?"

"Life? Love? Power? Why do people do anything?" He's honestly seen people do worse for less. "Perhaps together, you can do what you could not do alone. If you gave instead of taking, I at least would consider you no demon. Simply a helpful little spirit."

"I see…" Justice looks down, and he tries to not gag at the sight of the spine poking out of the neck. "It is something to consider. Thank you, Nathaniel."

Thankfully, Justice falls silent and he can relax and simply focus on what is around them. In the distance, he can see the walls of Vigil's Keep, and it looks as if someone is repairing them. Already, he can tell they're stronger and it makes him smile. It had been terrifying, being in the prisons, unable to do anything while he heard people die. He hopes that if there is another attack, he can actually help. Though really, he hopes that there's no attack at all. But he knows that's a foolish hope.

"So, is everyone okay?" Nuada appears at his side, and he glances over to see Oghren talking to Justice. "Things looked a little tense," he continues, careful to keep him on his blind side. It's still so odd to see Nuada's eyes. "Aiden and I were worried."

"He gets worried?" he jokes, looking to Aiden. However, Aiden looks like he's perfectly focused on whatever Velanna's talking about, so he guesses it is just one of those 'things' that the four senior Wardens have. Perhaps it is because of the stress of the Blight, but he's noticed the four understand each other easily and even without words. Then again, he's learned by now that they've gone through some _weird_ shit. You practically had to know everyone well for that. "Regardless, yes, just some theorizing and whatnot to keep him from complaining about my sneaking in to steal my family's things."

"He really doesn't understand grey morality, huh?"

"Not at all." It's almost amusing, but he dreads the day it's no longer that. "However, there is something I've been meaning to ask you. Well, a couple of things, but..." Still, he hesitates, because his heart hurts. He's worried desperately about Delilah, there's so many unknowns, and he also… "No one has told me who killed Thomas."

"Ah." Nuada falls silent for a moment, studying him closely, before nodding. "Elspeth killed him."

"I see." Part of him wants to be outraged, but he can't muster enough energy to do so. He knows now what all happened at Highever. He knows what Thomas allowed. He knows that all were fair grounds for execution. Still, he also knows that Thomas had loved Elspeth, and he thinks the death is bitter for that reason alone. "Was it quick?"

"They had to chase him, because he ran, but from what I was told, it was a single arrow." Nuada watches him a moment before nodding. "You mentioned a 'couple' of things. What's the second?"

"Ah, yes." He's glad Nuada changes the subject. It's painful, thinking of Thomas's death. They had never been close, but at the same time, Thomas had been his little brother. "I was thinking I should write to my uncle and…" Uncle Leonas… he's never really had contact with him. He'd heard that Uncle Leonas disapproved of his parents' marriage, but that had always been the extent of things. But maybe he could try. Maybe it would help him understand what all went wrong.

"He'd love it." And Nuada smiles warmly, reassuringly. "Write one when we get back. I'll make sure it's sent."

"Thank you." This is not the life he expected by any means, but he does find his footing on the path anyway. Perhaps it was the path he had always been destined to take. Or maybe he's just getting lucky. He can believe that too.

* * *

Author's note: Justice and Nathaniel's conversation is based off of their party banter. _World of Thedas, Volume 2_ revealed that Howe and Arl Leonas Bryland are actually brother in laws, and Bryland disapproved heavily of it.

Next Chapter - Back at the Keep with Aiden


	23. Chapter 18) Quiet

Chapter 18) Quiet

 _Aiden POV_

* * *

 _He smiles and nods, pretending that he's listening to his brother while he plots out another story, maybe one he'll write. Maybe he won't. All depends on what the characters decide. He's just the author after all. But Andraste's tits, he wishes he was at the Hanged Man instead, playing cards with Thrask and Gallard. Not listening to his brother ramble about things for this expedition they were planning._

 _Protection, his brother says. But he knows better. They need more than protection. They need another partner. Someone strong and skilled, capable of bringing in the last of the coin needed to fund this damn thing. He turns his thoughts to the rumors he's heard, of a family that just might be exactly what he's looking for. The Hawkes, scions of the Amell family, refugees from Fereldan who not only survived, but thrived in the 'free city' of Kirkwall. The three eldest hold his attention the most, though. Minerva, Vesta, and Diana… you hear the names on everyone's lips. Minerva served with the Red Iron Mercenaries, becoming their greatest asset before she bowed out. Vesta and Diana were responsible for Athenril's smugglers becoming skilled enough to rival the Cotorie._

' _If you want a job done right, see if the Hawkes are interested.' That is the advice on the lips of every informat in the business. And he has a job he wants done very right. So, he hopes he can entice them. Rather, he hopes he can talk to them. Once he starts talking, he wins. It's just a matter of getting that chance._

* * *

Once we were within the repaired and reinforced walls of Vigil's Keep, I felt myself relax without even thinking about it. It wasn't like the place was 'safe' or anything. It was still recovering. But there was something about everything that said 'it will be vigilant in your place'. Maybe the name? I didn't know. I did know that the others also relaxed and we were greeted warmly. And then people struggled to hide their nausea and horror when they noticed Justice. I had to fight off laughter, though it was mostly a 'yeah, welcome to _my life_ ' laughter.

Seneschal Varel and Mistress Layla both met us on the steps to the Keep proper. Seneschal Varel had to fight to keep his calm, and the more charitable part of me wondered if he recognized Kristoff's body. The rest of me was just amused, but that might've been because Mistress Layla was perfectly calm. Like she greeted groups with walking dead every day.

"Welcome home, everyone," she greeted with a kind and warm smile. No few people gave her weird looks. "It seems you have quite the story to report. Does our new comrade need to be iced or anything? I can take him to Anders and see about at least reducing the smell and maybe creating something to hide the bones poking out."

"Let's see about smell and slowing the decomposition, as I'm sure it's odd," I replied, barely keeping back laughter. This was all just too ridiculous. "Good to be home, though."

"I'm sure." She skipped down the steps, leaned up to kiss Lord Nuada's cheek, and then beckoned for Justice to follow her. Velanna ended up going along, mostly to make sure Justice did, in fact, follow her.

'It seems Fen'harel is playing quite the trick, one that might make Falon'din unhappy.' With the greetings done, Cleon stepped out from the shadow of the staircase and walked to Lord Nuada and me. Oghren and Nathaniel decided to ask Seneschal Varel about much needed baths. 'What happened?' he signed, studying us closely. 'You look haggard.'

"Haggard is probably an understatement," Lord Nuada replied. Now that we were home, he let some of his exhaustion through and his signs were tired, lethargic even. "The marsh was a little rougher than anticipated."

'Even by our standards?'

"We ended up in the Fade, actually." Nuada threw up his hands in a 'I do not even know' gesture when Cleon's jaw dropped. "I know. I know. We got some information about this damned Civil War, sort of."

'Well, damn.' Cleon smiled sympathetically. 'You will be happy to know, though, that we dealt with the conspirators, charmed the people of Amaranthine, and dealt with an insane templar.'

"Sounds like you all had fun too," I noted, laughing tiredly. It really was nice to be back. "Anything that'll come bite us in the ass?"

'There are some tunnels that someone might use to infiltrate Amaranthine, but otherwise, nothing expected,' Cleon reassured. He looked at both of us again and promptly pushed us up the stairs, pausing only to continue signing. 'Inside. Rest. We can deal with important stuff in a day or so.'

"Unless the world implodes on us."

'The world can deal with its own damn mess for one day.'

Cleon continued bullying us down the hall, but I managed to duck away under the excuse of being starving, hungry enough to eat Soris's rat stew and he was just plain _bad_ at cooking rat. Then, after acquiring a snack, I decided to check in on the only Warden I hadn't at least heard about upon returning: Sigrun. It took quite a bit of asking, surprisingly, but eventually, I found her in the library, voraciously reading some book. She quickly finished it and darted to the shelves to grab another one, but then stared at all the books with sparkling eyes. Eyes that flicked from one to the next, no idea where to start.

"Hmm? My, you read fast." Surprisingly, though, Anora was also here, and she laughed at Sigrun's enthusiasm from the table she read out. She had a large stack of books around her, hinting she'd been reading here for a while. "Would you like another recommendation?" she asked kindly, already standing up. Sigrun nodded vigorously. "Let's see... ah, how about this one?" Anora pulled a book from the shelf and handed it to Sigrun. "It's by an author named 'Varric Tethras'. Fictional, though. Do you like those?"

"Yeah, they're great!" Sigrun laughed, tucking the book against her chest. "They really bend the imagination, and yet, they make more sense than my life!"

"Reality is stranger than fiction many days." Anora giggled and returned to her chair and stack of books. "Let me know what you think? Elspeth really likes that one."

Deciding that there was no reason to interrupt Sigrun's reading, I instead left the library without another word, finishing up my snack along the way. From there, I promptly got lost in the Keep and had to sheepishly ask around for where my room actually was. When I arrived, I found a hot bath waiting for me, a note from Cleon stating that he ordered one for me, and a letter from Zevran. I eagerly opened it and read through the words with a smile, determined to memorize each and every line. Ah, I wished he was here. I could use the massage. And the cuddles. And the kisses. But, I'd take the letter. And that warm bath because damn it, I needed it. But I had needed this letter too. This reassurance that he was still alive, still thinking of me. It meant more than I expected, and I quietly admitted that even though things had been so incredibly hectic, I missed him _terribly_. No, no 'even though'. I missed him because it was so hectic. I missed him because he wasn't here.

This was something I needed to get used to, but that didn't mean I had to like it. I'd be sure to give him a proper 'welcome back' when I saw him again. For now, the letters really would do.

* * *

After a long and relaxing soak, an equally long and restful nap, and eating half of my weight in whatever various things we had in the kitchens, I meandered my way through the Keep, listening to the gossip, and ended up on the balcony on the second floor, looking out over the courtyard. Below, Lord Nuada, Nathaniel, and Anders all played with various children. I had no idea why we had so many here, really, but...

"Now, is this not a fun sight?" Mistress Layla giggled as she joined me out on the balcony. She wore a slightly fancier dress than normal, so I wondered if she'd just got done dealing with some nobles. "I am sure they enjoy having more playmates," Layla giggled, resting her hands on the railing. "I am also certain Anders enjoys having the help!"

"I take it Anders has done this quite a few times?" I asked, leaning against the railing myself. I glanced around, curious about where Cleon, Oghren, Velanna, or Sigrun might be. But there was no danger at the moment, so I decided against asking when I didn't see them. "Where are the children even from?"

"Some are refugees, truthfully. Nearby villages destroyed by the darkspawn roaming about. Others are families of soldiers, brought here for safety, or families of the servants." She smiled faintly and sadly. "The Keep provides more protection than a simple village, even if it comes with its own dangers."

"I see." I looked down at all the children with a new perspective. Each one suddenly represented a village we couldn't save, or a family that placed its hopes in us. Rather somber, really, and a reminder of the burden we 'heroes' had on our shoulders. "Too serious."

"Yes, that _is_ too serious. You are much too tired for that." She giggled and looked at me. "Say, have you thought about children?"

"That's… okay, I suppose it's not out of nowhere." Still, not what I'd expected. "The answer is no, not really. I've some experience from the Alienage, but in my opinion, if your answer to 'do you want children' isn't a resounding yes, you shouldn't have them. You can't exactly give them back." The thought was interesting, though. "I suppose Zevran and I could adopt if the urge comes. At the moment, his stuff with the Crows and my stuff with the Wardens don't exactly lend themselves to proper parenting."

"I suppose so." She hummed a bit, absently playing with some strands that had escaped her braided-bun. "Anora and I talked a bit about it. I must admit that I am considering it."

"Well, you and Lord Nuada wouldn't be traveling nearly as much as I will. Your duties will keep you both rather firmly in Fereldan."

"That is true. When things settle down, I think I will talk to Nuada about it." She sighed, though. "That said, Wardens apparently suffer from reduced fertility, so we would likely have to adopt. That is not a bad thing, mind. We should do that anyway. There must be lots of orphans."

"That is very true, _and_ you and Lord Nuada will be quite rich." I paused and looked at her. "Though ah… maybe don't adopt elves? We are proud of our culture. You can get some… well…"

"Oh, no! That would be like stealing your children!" She shook her head and I smiled, relieved she caught why it was a little… well… "I mean; I would not mind taking care of some, but they should know their own culture. It would be better, probably, to increase funding to the Alienages."

"Exactly." This was why I loved my friends. After we spent so much time with each other, we just _understood_. "And about birthing a child… well, Morrigan found a way, and we'll eventually find her, so we'll just ask then."

"That is true." She giggled. "You know; Cleon didn't realize that we had that planned."

"Really?" I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I mean… prickly as she could be, there's no doubt that she's a friend. We have to at least make sure she's okay."

"I know, yes?" She continued giggling and then looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by with a bright smile. "You know; when all this started, I hated the Maker. I hated Him for throwing me into all this chaos. I hated Him for forcing me into a path I never wanted. But now, I am rather happy with Him."

"Oh?"

"Yes." She laughed, still bright and cheerful. Like the sun, sparkling above. "There has been much suffering, and we have broken so many times that I no longer recognize the pieces, and yet, here I stand, happier than I ever had been in the Circle." She looked at me, still smiling. "So, perhaps the Maker was trying to guide me to this happier path."

"Or perhaps you defied His evil plots." The words were out before I could stop them, and I felt bad, but she continued smiling, so I kept going with the thought. "Made some happiness out of his butchery."

"Perhaps, but I do think I prefer the former." She laughed, unbothered, and I smiled back. "You and Nuada aren't exactly religious, though."

"Nope. You and Cleon are the religious ones."

"Yes, though I will admit that the Chantry needs a great many changes." Though she continued smiling, she became serious. "I meant what I said, about making the Alienage better. I want to try, and learn. So, when you can, may I have your help?"

"I am ever at your service, Mistress Layla." The words were more formal than I'd used in a while, especially around her, so I grinned to soften them. "And if I'm not here, I'll have a list of people you can ask."

"Wonderful!" She clapped her hands, giggling, and turned away from the railing. And promptly squeaked. "Ack!" I looked around, wondering who startled us, and I didn't see a thing. I only saw a small… "I! Hate! Spiders!" She ducked behind me, practically climbing up on the railing to get away from the tiny spider crawling along the wall. "They're icky and gross and creepy!"

"Aren't they good for the environment or something?" I couldn't believe she was freaking out so badly. I could understand the big ones that could eat you, but this was tiny!

"They can be good _away_ from me!"

"So, we've fought demons, darkspawn, and dragons…" I started laughing and she shoved me. "Wow…!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Is everything okay?" Lord Nuada called up then. He had left the children to frown worriedly at us, no doubt startled by Mistress Layla's yelps. "Layla? Aiden?"

"We're fine!" I managed through the laughter. This was too much! "It's just a spider!"

"Oh, ugh, they're creepy. They have too many legs." Nuada grimaced and I just laughed more. It wasn't a very nice thing, but it was just so… so _normal_ of a fear. I couldn't help but be startled. "My dear, I can catch you if you want to escape."

I laughed even harder when Mistress Layla promptly took the escape, swinging right over the railing. Lord Nuada caught her easily, and kissed her cheek with a smile. I actually had to sit down because I was laughing so hard, to the point that when Cleon passed by, he sincerely worried there was something wrong with me!

Mistress Layla was right. There had been so much and we broken into a million little pieces. But I couldn't be happier right now, and I wouldn't trade any of this for _anything_.

* * *

Author's notes: So, have a nice little rest chapter because this group needs it. Starting from this chapter, the opening scenes aren't of Origins NPCs, but rather, DA2 playable chars, starting with Varric. Him playing cards with Thrask comes from his pre-game short story, and Gallard is a character who shows up in the same short story

Next Chapter - Interlude, Justice


	24. Interlude - Justice

Interlude - Justice

* * *

It sees Kristoff's memories. Bits of lingering spirit, or perhaps they are things stored in this 'brain' mortals carry around in their skulls. But they give it a name for the woman who screamed and ran from him. Aura, Kristoff's wife, who should have remained wherever 'home' was, with their newborn child. Instead, she is here, and learned of her husband's death in the worst of ways.

It bothers him. Intentionally or not, it has done that woman a great disservice. It must rectify it somehow. Bring justice to her, and to her fallen husband. But it does not know what to do. It knows, _longs_ , to assuage the pain, but does not know what to do. It does not even known how to bring it up with the Wardens, the protectors of this world from the vile blackness that is the darkspawn. Kind, they are, to allow him to help and avenge Kristoff's unjust death. But so kind that they would delay their purpose, simply for one mortal? Much as it feels justice must be given to Aura, it does not think the Wardens will deviate from their purpose. It is Justice, and justice is all it knows. Why should the Wardens be any different?

Though, that isn't to say that there are not other things unjust in this world. Truly, it is astonishing just how many injustices go unnoticed. It overheard, not long ago, Anders talking with 'Layla' about this Circle and the things it heard… they rankle him. Such oppression should be intolerable! These templars… this Chantry… that they should not only hold power, but be considered right? That their constant oppression is considered justified? Nonsense. At least these darkspawn have the excuse of being unthinking, normally. Mortals? Mortals have no such excuse. They are like demons, twisted by their own desires, and that cannot continue.

But what other injustices are there? It knows about the mages, but what else? What else is there? It's almost enough to drive it made, but it holds firm. It holds to its purpose. It is justice. It is Justice. It cannot lose itself. It cannot let itself be twisted. It will not be a demon. It is a spirit, and so, it will always be. No matter what, it will serve and strive to correct the world.

It needs to learn. This beautiful world is filled with such cruelty. It needs to _learn_ , and then make it right. That is what it, and justice, is.

* * *

Author's note: So, have Justice's little interlude (emphasis on little… sorry!). Aura is encountered in game almost immediately after you bring Justice into the Keep, iirc, and you _must_ have this encounter in order to start his companion quest. Other than that, just a little bit of a set up for DA2

Next Chapter - More Keep antics with Nuada


	25. Chapter 19) Bonds

Chapter 19) Bonds

 _Nuada POV_

* * *

 _He's angry. It's not uncommon. Even he knows that he's always angry. Always scowling. Always… always not his siblings. Weaker than Minerva, less cheerful than Vesta, less 'balanced' than Diana, less adorable than Bethany… all of it reminds him of the whispers that follow him. 'Your dad died, so why aren't you the man of the house?' As if there was something wrong with listening to his sisters, when they were the older ones. Worse, though, is that they do, in fact, make him feel like there is. That there is something wrong with him, so that was why Minerva had to step up. That he was too weak, too lost, too… everything negative… to be relied on._

 _None of it helps the nightmares. Ostagar… all the dead and dying… all the screams… unable to do anything but run… it's hard to sleep. It's hard to breathe. He desperately wants to run, to go do something. Be part of something, so that he can find his footing again. Kirkwall is a cesspool, dragging them all down. He doesn't want to drown. Not here. Not..._

" _Carver?" He blinks and there's Diana, smiling sweetly at him as she leans over him. "Hey there, little soldier," she teases, brushing the hair out of his face. He relaxes, because that's how Diana is. They've always been close. "Mind helping me? Figured I'd take Orion out for a bit of hunting." Orion barks happily, already by the door. "So?"_

" _Yeah, sounds good," he replies, standing. The idea of escaping, even for a moment, is wonderful. "Thanks."_

" _For what?" Her smile turns innocent, and he knows she knows what he meant. But she pretends otherwise, because she knows his bleeding pride likes it. And she indulges it, because she knows what it's like to feel 'different', even in your own family. "And off we go~!"_

* * *

I'd expected to be out training, or at least spending time with everyone. I was aware of the isolation, and we needed to fix that. However, Nathaniel had asked me for a favor. He wanted some of his family's things, but legally speaking, he wasn't allowed to have them. A Cousland had to 'gift' it to him and, more importantly, a Cousland had to go through the items and confirm that there were no treacherous writings or whatnot. Even worse, though, was that each item had to actually be catalogued, with a signature on each one, meaning that I couldn't lie and say I did. It was bullshit, but Howe had been declared Oathbreaker. I had declared it. So, I had to deal with all the nonsense. Considering what Nathaniel had to deal with, it was a small price to pay. I did wish I knew why it _had_ to be a Cousland, though. My best guess was because we were the liege family.

"I suppose this sort of thing is good practice for whatever other nonsense I'll be forced to deal with in the coming months," I murmured, going through the last chest. Surprisingly, there had been a lot of things to go through. It seemed the servants managed to save what they could, no doubt anticipating that any survivors might want them, and Varel was kind enough to leave the items be. "That said, I think I've been in here all damn morning!" The fact that I was in a cramped storage room didn't help either. I wanted sunshine. I wanted fresh air. I'd never been the type to enjoy being inside. That was part of why I'd always known I'd never 'fit' the typical noble's path. But now look where I was. Life was funny, sometimes. "Ugh… I just need to endure a little while longer…"

Sighing, I picked up each individual item, writing it down and signing off on it. Most were just little trinkets, things I barely paid any sort of attention to. At least, I didn't pay attention until I found a letter opener and I nearly dropped it when I realized I recognized it. It was… Fergus had given it to Howe two years ago, a birthday present. Confused, I set it down and studied the items scattered around me. I soon found a broach Elspeth got him last year. Carefully folded up in the corner was a drawing Oren had made a few months before all of this. Inside the trunk was a stack of letters from Father, carefully tied together with a neat ribbon, from over the years. Next to the letters was necklace I remembered Mother buying for him. Then there were other things… other gifts we had given him over the years. I didn't…

"Why are these here…?" I shakily picked up the items, looking for some tiny detail that would tell me that these weren't the gifts. I looked for anything that would tell me that I was wrong. But instead, I just became more and more certain. "Why does he have these? Why…?" He betrayed us. He killed us. He hated us. Why would he have…? Not all of the gifts were practical. Not all of the things were useful. Why…?

Shakily, I looked through and found a small book. I picked it up, wondering if it was one that we had given him over the years, but when I opened it up, I saw it was a journal. It was Howe's journal. He wrote in it infrequently, so it covered quite a few years. Almost immediately, I could see the poisonous, vicious jealousy and hatred Howe had for Father. I winced when I read entries about how he forced himself to smile and laugh, and how he longed to 'put Bryce in his proper place, in the ground'. It was painful. All those memories I had of their 'friendship'... it was painful.

Noticing the dates, I flipped to the year where I had first met Howe. But then I read words that made me drop the book entirely. ' _I met Nuada and Elspeth. Hadn't seen them since they were babies. I was prepared to hate them. Fergus showed all of his father's nonsensical naivety and arrogance early. But Nuada and Elspeth… I want to hate them like I do Bryce, but there is something strangely charming about them. I suppose.'_

Not believing the words, I flipped to another entry. My hands shook as I skimmed through, not able to believe anything. But this was Howe's journal. This was his writing. There would be no reason to lie here, of all places.

' _Nuada seems to like history. Listens to me when I talk about it, gives me proper respect. Asks me questions, and smiles at the answers. I took him up to the ramparts and he laughed and laughed, eyes sparkling. He's a good lad. I think I'll buy him some history books.'_

Each entry showed that… that...

' _Elspeth made my favorite tea for me. It's a difficult blend to get right, and it's admittedly a bit off. But that she tried is… strange. But kind. Her small smile says that I'm a person to her. Not someone who has to prove himself. Strange. It's sweet, though. She's a kind girl.'_

I continued flipping, continued hunting, for anything that showed his hatred towards me, towards Elspeth. It wasn't until I got to entries from the last two years that I found it, though. The words were blurred, but I managed to process them. He hated us because we were the 'perfect Couslands'. He hated us because of the reputation we had, the falsehood we held up for our people. We were the 'best', and he hated us for it. But Elspeth and me… he had loved us once. He had loved us. Those early memories… they hadn't… they hadn't been…

I collapsed, sobbing as I just completely broke down. They'd been real. They'd been _real_. Our mistake had been to continue pretending to be 'perfect'. Our mistake had been assuming he still felt the same. But those first memories had been real. But that just made everything hurt all the more.

I'd been right. My 'Uncle Rendon' had 'died' long ago, and we all had been the fools who let themselves be blinded. But he had existed. _He had existed_. I wasn't… I…

* * *

After my crying fit, I had to escape. I had to run. I had to get fresh air. So, I did a literal run across the ramparts, to get myself moving. Then, to cool down, I stood on the balcony of the Keep, the one that overlooked the courtyard, and watched Layla and Aiden train with the others. Aiden and Oghren were sparring, while Justice watched with a curious expression. Nathaniel and Sigrun practiced their shooting and throwing skills with the mages, who practiced their own targeting. Layla, Anders, and Velanna had turned it into a complete competition, and Nathaniel and Sigrun were doing their best to make it as difficult as possible. Cleon, surprisingly, wasn't down there. At least, it was a surprise until I felt someone tap my shoulder, and I turned to see he was with me. His slight, concerned smile told me he'd caught sight of me, and was up here to make sure…

"I'm fine," I reassured, signing the words carefully. I sulked at his skeptical look. "I really am. I just… I had to go through some of Howe's things."

'They still _have_ some of that bastard's things?' Cleon asked, scowling. He pulled me into a hug, and I leaned briefly into him. He didn't continue until I pulled away. 'Fen'harel's teeth, we could've done it with you, you know.'

"I honestly wasn't expecting to be shaken so much." I had been just fine until I learned he still kept the gifts. "I'll talk more about it later. Promise."

'Then I will wait.' Cleon smiled reassuringly, and looked down at everyone in the courtyard. 'It is a slow process, getting to know everyone. But we are taking those steps.'

"We've got a lot to learn still." I studied him, noticing his signs were lighter than they had been in quite a long while. "You're looking lighter."

'I finally got my thoughts straight on Morrigan.' Cleon made a face. 'It was with Loghain's help though. I hate being grateful.'

"Ha!" I couldn't help but laugh, but my heart ached anyway. I still didn't quite know how to feel about him. At the same time, I didn't want to deal with that right now. There was too much already. "You going to go after her?"

'Certainly not right now. Too much going on.' Cleon poked my cheek. 'And there will be a lot going on in the future as well. Especially for you.'

"Don't I know it?" I almost listed it off, but then remembered I wouldn't be able to sign if I did. It annoyed me that I'd forgotten that. "Warden-Constable, Teyrn of Gwaren, King's Champion…"

'Arl of Amaranthine? Or is that not how things work?'

"What are you…? Oh." I blushed at the thought. "Uh… I… well…" I glanced down at Layla, and all too easily could see her in a wedding dress. Cleon hid a smile, guessing what I was thinking. "Technically, yes, but since I'd have my own lands, and would be it only by marriage, I wouldn't be very involved. It would just be yet another title."

'Interesting.' Cleon frowned thoughtfully, before grinning again. 'Still, that would be fun!'

"We haven't even talked about it yet!" I knew I was still horribly red, and the scar on my face almost hurt from it. Cleon continued grinning, as smug as Morrigan. "But I suppose we will, when things are calmer." My hands shook a little, effectively giving my signs a bit of a stammer. His grin grew. "After all, we're Wardens. We don't necessarily _have_ to get-" I flinched when Cleon poked my head. "Hey!"

'Nope, you two are marrying.' Cleon had an almost comically serious expression on his face. It was 'almost' because I was sure he really _was_ serious. 'I want a party.'

"I'm a _noble_. If you want a party, I can bullshit an excuse easily." I rolled my eyes, but laughter drew my attention downward. At some point, the separate training sessions had apparently turned into a free-for-all. Justice stayed out of it, looking super confused, but everyone else was running about having fun in a slightly-deadlier-version of tag. Layla's laugh was the loudest, and I smiled when I saw how bright she looked. "You know; I still can't believe she fell in love with me. I'm worried I won't be able to make her happy." I remembered what she had said when we confessed to each other. She would 'seize her own happiness'. But…

'Silly.' Cleon rolled his eyes. 'You give her happiness simply by existing. Just as you do to the rest of us.' He grinned. 'Even if you can be aggravating.'

"Well, it's part of a sibling's job to annoy the rest." I smiled back, glad he didn't let me just wallow in self-pity, and he hid a smile behind his hand. He knew that unspoken 'rule' as well. He had a twin. "Speaking of family, where is your Clan again?"

'My Clan? Sundermount.'

"That's Kirkwall…" I grimaced. It would take a while to come up with a reason to head there, damn it. "Be a while…"

'I am fine. I know they are alive. That is enough, for now.' Cleon smiled warmly. 'I also have my sister, niece, and mamae here.'

"That's true." Still, I had hoped it could be a little sooner. "They doing okay?"

'Lyna is adapting well to court life, it seems.' Cleon frowned a bit. 'I need to find a good gift to send to her and Athela, though. And to Ashalle.'

"The market in Amaranthine is pretty extensive. In some ways, it was more extensive than Denerim's." I smiled, remembering the trips I'd made. "They've got stalls with bunches of children's toys. I bought Oren a bunch there."

'That is good to know. I can only hope they have something safe for a baby, especially with everything so...' Cleon paused, thinking of a word before shrugging. 'Hectic.'

"Hectic is certainly a way to describe it." Though, it was a bit of an understatement. "How old is she again?"

'Athela? Six or seven months.' Cleon's eyes turned dark. 'She has Tamlen's smile. I wish he had gotten to see her. He had looked forward to being a father.'

"Shame that the Blight stole so much." I wanted to ask if he'd told Lyna just how Tamlen had truly died, but I already knew what the answer was. After all, I knew what I would've done with Elspeth. I would've hidden it, even knowing she might see through it. "But it didn't take everything."

'No, it didn't.' Cleon smiled down at everyone, who were apparently winding down from their practice-grame. 'We are still here. We still thrive, with Mythal's blessing and grace.'

"Yeah, we're still here." I leaned against the railing and waved to catch the attention of those below. "Nathaniel, if you're done, I've things for you!"

"Wait, you already did that?" Nathaniel called back up, sounding startled. I wasn't sure why. When people asked for a favor, I tried to do it as soon as possible. "Well, that's good. I've some news for you."

"Well, that sounds like fun." I wondered what it could be. The others looked confused, so he hadn't told them yet. "I'll meet you in the hall, then!"

* * *

After dinner, the four of us lounged about in the room Layla and I shared. It hadn't been on purpose, or even accident. The others just went to sleep. Well, Justice could've been awake. I had no idea if he _did_ sleep. But he went wherever he normally did during the night, which we took as a sign to 'not disturb'. So, we relaxed, and studied the bottle of alcohol Oghren recommended we try. It was something he wanted out of his room, to work on not being quite as much of an alcoholic, and he mentioned something about wanting to know what we thought of it. Knowing it was Oghren, though… well, it made us a trifle reluctant.

"Okay, he'd never let us hear the end of it if at least one of us doesn't try it," Aiden noted reluctantly, poking the bottle so that it rattled against the floor, but stayed upright. The liquid inside sloshed about, some green sort of color that I wasn't sure was a 'good' green. "So…"

"I am _not_ drinking it," Layla muttered, half-hiding behind me like the bottle was a snapping animal. She might've hidden fully if she didn't need Cleon to see her hands for her signing. "I do not drink."

"That's… huh, I don't think I have ever seen you drink. That's weird, for some reason." Aiden shrugged. "Cleon? Lord Nuada?"

'Elgar'nan himself couldn't make me drink that,' Cleon signed quickly, expression completely unamused. He was actually sitting a bit apart from us, sitting against the base of the bed. We were all on the floor, with the bottle in the 'middle'. 'No way.'

"Well, I guess…" Aiden began. He sighed and grabbed the bottle. "If I die, tell Zevran I'm sorry." Then he took a swig and coughed, choking a bit and eyes watering. "Oh, Maker…"

"Is it bad?" I asked, taking the bottle from him. I was now morbidly curious. "How bad?"

"Almost as bad…" He coughed again, voice thin and wheezing. "Almost as bad as Avernus's vial."

"Is that so?" I studied it for a moment, shrugged, and actually downed the rest. There was only a swallow or two left anyway. Almost immediately, I could feel the alcohol burn down my throat, and I half-swore it took off all the skin of my tongue, mouth, and throat. It might've even scraped off part of my stomach. "Maker, that's rough…" I set the bottle onto the floor, coughing as the burn continued. "Okay, that's almost as vile as dragon's blood…"

"Ugh… why did we do that?"

"I don't know."

"You did it because you are both idiots," Layla grumbled, glowering at me. She climbed into my lap, however, and rested her head briefly against my chest, listening to my heartbeat. I hugged her, knowing it was because I had reminded her of… well, when I almost died. "Well, are you two done being insane?"

'I think that isn't curable,' Cleon signed, giving us the most droll expression. He then snatched the bottle and tossed it to the side. 'But they did prove their leadership, I suppose.'

"I suppose. Oghren shall be quite pleased."

'Indeed.' Cleon shrugged and crawled over to join the… triangle, now. Layla shifted to continue sitting in my lap. 'Anyway, I was curious about Amaranthine's market. Do we have any good excuses to head that way?'

"Well, I probably need to check in on things there. I am their ruler." Layla hummed a bit, leaning back against me. I wrapped my arms around her, thinking of what Nathaniel had told me. "Is there anything else?"

"Well, Justice actually made a request earlier," Aiden murmured, frowning a bit. He twisted a bit in his seat to pop his back before continuing. "He had an… interesting encounter with someone. Namely Kristoff's wife. Widow, rather."

"Oh no!" Layla gasped, covering her mouth. Cleon and I both winced. That was… "Oh, we _must_ talk to her! I… that…"

"My reaction exactly, Mistress Layla." Aiden smiled warmly. "She's apparently staying in Amaranthine, so we can take care of that. I should probably head there to talk to her personally." He glanced at Cleon. "I can see how the market is for you. I know we had bunches of merchant trouble."

'That would be appreciated,' Cleon signed, smiling softly. He winked at me before focusing on Aiden again. 'Focus on toys for children?'

"Of course," Aiden replied, laughing. It sounded tired, so I wondered how well he'd been sleeping. "I probably need to look for gifts for my own family. Might be good just to see how it's doing anyway."

'Yes, that sounds good. Is there anything else?'

"Nathaniel has reason to head to Amaranthine as well, actually," I explained. Layla signed for me so that I didn't have to let go of her. "His sister is apparently there, married."

"Wait, really?!" Layla gasped, twisting to look at me. She smiled brightly and giggled. "Ah, so that is what had him in such a good mood! I wonder why he waited to tell, though."

"He wanted to tell me personally. I do know Delilah, though we didn't always get along." I was glad to hear she was alive and well. "So, there's another reason right there."

"Hopefully it is a much happier one as well."

"So, Mistress Layla can head to Amaranthine to check on things, and I can talk to Aura. Justice and Nathaniel can come with us…" Aiden murmured, frowning a bit as he thought. Cleon nodded, agreeing to that. "Anyone else?"

"Anders can come as well, and he and I can do a medical check on everything again," Layla replied, giggling. The happy news for Nathaniel certainly cheered her up. "We can leave in the morning."

"And, meanwhile, Lord Nuada and Cleon can keep things running here for us." Aiden grinned at us, and Cleon and I nodded. We also needed to check the scouting reports. The lack of information and activity was troubling. However, the repairs to the Keep were actually completed now, so that was a good sign. "In that case, though, I imagine I'm going to go to bed. I am exhausted."

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"I've just been overworking, I think." Aiden smiled sheepishly and Cleon mimed hitting him in the head. "I know; I know. I lose track of time. I'm going straight to bed."

'I think I will do the same,' Cleon signed, standing. He pulled Aiden up as well, and smiled at Layla and me when we hopped up too. 'Pleasant dreams, everyone. May the Dread Wolf not prank us tonight.'

"Good night," I replied, seeing them out. I shut the door behind them and sighed, rolling my shoulders. "Well then…" I turned and smiled at Layla. "We should get some sleep ourselves."

"Must we?" she asked, sounding perfectly innocent. She skipped over to me, smiled shyly, and linked her hands behind my neck. She had to get on her tiptoes to do so, so I rested my hands on her sides to support her. "I will not see you for a few days, you know. I need a surplus to make it through."

"You…" I laughed softly and kissed her fiercely. "I love you."

"I love you as well." She smiled against my lips, giggling. "Is that not a wonderful coincidence?"

"I agree." If there was one thing I'd thank the Maker for, it would be that. "It very much is."

* * *

Author's note: Bit of a short thing, some heart to hearts. Nothing much, but felt needed nonetheless. The opening scene is from Carver's POV.

Next Chapter - Interlude, Anders


	26. Interlude - Anders

Interlude - Anders

* * *

Back on the road again. He's used to it, of course, but he just finds it so amusing. It used to be that people did their best to shove him into a cage. Now, he is barely able to stay in the same place for more than two days before being out on the open road. He guesses Wardens like to travel a lot or something. Always a place to check or a person to save. Huzzah to the great heroes! Or, at least, to this group of weirdos.

Normally, he'd be teasing one of the group, but he had decided to hang back a bit, to have some quiet. Quiet is hard to come by nowadays, and he's surprised by how much he misses it. But he supposes that it's not necessarily a bad thing to miss, though the quiet does leave him in his own thoughts. Thoughts that he…

He glances over at Justice, who is talking to Aiden about something. The spirit bound to a corpse… he feels sorry for Justice, truly. After all, Justice is trapped in a body that would literally rot out underneath him. And, sure, that is technically true for all of them, but still. The thought is uncomfortable. Almost as uncomfortable as their last couple of conversations.

Justice's admonishments echo through his skull. 'A duty to help the oppressed'. It's nonsense, really. What can he do? And, you know, dying sounds bad. Besides, the world isn't fair, and what's he supposed to do to make 'the oppressors' stop? Blow them up? Right, like one can sneak an explosive into a Chantry.

But still, the words gnaw on him, and he thinks of everything he's witnessed over the years. The beatings, the rapes, the deaths, the fear. He thinks of hidden trysts carefully kept quiet because you couldn't give the Templars one more thing to use against you. He thinks of the babies ripped away from their mothers. He thinks of couples separated without cause and without thought. He thinks… he thinks…

Laughter makes him look up, and he sees Layla laughing at something Nathaniel had said. She had always been bright, the sunshine in the Tower, but now she practically blazes. Power wraps around her like a cloak, and when she speaks, you know she expects to be listened to. A mage in power, a mage others swore fealty to, an example of the good mages could do.

He feels lost in the shadows, though. He left briefly, escaped briefly, and so much had changed. He feels lost and flailing about, and he thinks he understands, finally, why Jowan had been so desperate. But he knows that blood magic isn't the way to go. He knows…

But still, looking at her just makes him wonder… how many more lights could mages be, if given the opportunity? How brightly would they shine if they are not muffled and muted by the chains of the Circle? He's not sure, and he honestly might need a drink or ten. But the thought doesn't leave him alone, no more than Justice's words.

And they would probably bother him for a very, very long while.

* * *

Author's note: And here's a little Anders interlude. And more foreshadowing.

Next Chapter - Cleon at the Keep


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